


Forgive the Adoring Beast

by vagrantBreath



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Body Dysphoria, Captivity, Insecurity, Misunderstanding, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Red Paladin Lance (Voltron), Sheltered Keith, Team as Family, Transformation, mermaid keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2018-12-23 15:24:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 23,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11992536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vagrantBreath/pseuds/vagrantBreath
Summary: Lance knew Red wasn't the Lion for him. He just didn't feel like they... clicked right. Sure, he could pilot Red, but it just didn't feel right. He felt like something was missing.Kiyal knew something was out there for him. Something outside his waters. But when the Galra fish him out, intent on keeping him on a showpiece, he knew he had to find it, and find it fast.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Let's do this. Keith mermaid fic with him starting in captivity, go.

”There you are.”

Lance didn’t turn at Allura’s voice. He only looked up at the Blue Lion, his helmet under his arm. “Allura, why did Blue reject me?” he asked quietly. “She was okay with me flying her here. Why did she reject me when we needed to find the other Lions?”

”I do not know, Lance,” Allura said, coming up next to him, her own helmet under her arm. “The Lions have a mind of their own, and see qualities in us that we ourselves may not see. It may be the Blue Lion may have seen your talents and temperament would be better suited to the Red Lion.”

”Yeah, but...” Lance looked up at the Blue Lion. Something had happened when they found the Blue Lion. He had felt something. But the Blue Lion had locked him out when it came time to find the other Lions, only allowing Allura in. Out of desperation, they sent Lance to find the Red Lion, and Lance felt it was luck Red accepted him. And Red... he felt something with Red, but he didn’t feel _comfortable._ She moved too fast. Blue was just... perfect.

Allura sighed. “We do not have time to worry about this,” she told him. “We must practice forming Voltron. Being able to form Voltron once is not enough. We must be able to do so reliably. Return to your Lion for practice.”

”Yeah, yeah.” Lance put his helmet on, walking his way towards Red’s hangar. He didn’t know what it meant... what would happen if Red decided to reject him too? If Red decided he wasn’t the right pilot for him... he closed his eyes as he entered Red’s hangar, stopping briefly. He wasn’t Red’s pilot. He knew it. But if Blue locked him out... what was he?

Sighing, Lance entered Red, watching her displays light up. He knew one day that wouldn’t happen, but... until then, this was nice. “C’mon, girl,” he told Red, tightening his hands. “Let’s go form Voltron.”

  


* * *

  


His spear fell from his hands as the dart hit his neck. He couldn’t... his body fell deeper into the depths. He looked up, watching the purple faces grow further and further away as he fell, limp.

Then they came closer as something pulled him up, cupping him from behind and yanking him up. He watched the purple faces drowsily, blinking as they talked. He was still in water, but suspended above them. His hand attempted to move, but it couldn’t, staying limply by his side. One of the faces turned to him, and smiled, mouth full of razor sharp fangs.

”You’ll make an excellent showpiece for Commander Yliz,” it said before he closed his eyes, losing consciousness completely.

  


* * *

  


Lance woke with a start. He pulled his eyemask off, feeling the dampness as he did so.

Another dream about his family, about not being able to touch them, to tell them he was okay as they mourned him. This time, he had dreamed of his family entering the church from his childhood, looking just like it did when he was a child, and when he looked up he could see his picture and the priest preparing for a Memorial Mass...

Lance wiped at his eyes, looking to his right. His family would know he wasn’t dead. They wouldn’t hold a Memorial Mass. He- he knew they would know. He wasn’t dead. He just wasn’t on Earth. Shit, he wished he could tell them that. That he was okay. That he’d be home soon.

He got out of bed, sliding his feet into his slippers and making his way out towards the kitchen. He needed water.

How did the others do it? Pidge didn’t seem so worried to leave her mother behind. Yeah, she had family she was looking for, but didn’t she also want to go home and tell her mother she was okay? And Hunk... he knew Hunk had to be missing his family, but he still had that smile on his face. Shiro... everyone considered Shiro dead anyway, but he had to want to see family. Friends. Someone. Lance couldn’t be the only one missing Earth.

Lance grabbed a water packet and sat down, sipping on it. He had to hold it together. They’d be home soon enough. Just... keep it together. Fly Red, beat the bad guys. He could do that. He had to do that.

Suddenly, he crushed the water packet in his hands, feeling the water drip over his fingers.

He wanted to go _home_.

  


* * *

  


Mechanical humming woke him. His head felt stuffed full of seaweed, and when he opened his eyes, everything was blurry. He tried to move his arms, and they moved slowly, as if in a dream. He turned his head, looking around.

Then his heart pounded in his chest as he realized where he was.

This wasn’t his lake.

This was a space craft.

”Commander, I believe your prisoner is awake.” He tried to turn towards the voice, but it was hard. There wasn’t a lot of room before he hit something solid.

Someone walked forward, and he bared his fangs. That was a _Galra._ He reached for his spear, feeling panic rise in him as he realized it wasn’t next to him. It was missing- his entire holster was missing. He didn’t have anything on him at all.

”Hello, fish,” the Galra said conversationally.

He darted towards the Galra, hitting something clear and solid almost instantly. He growled, clawing at the surface.

”None of that, now.” The Galra reached out, placing his hand on the surface between them. “You’re quite a lovely fish. Those Galra eyes suit you well. You’ll do well on my ship as a good luck charm.”

He continued to claw at the surface as the Galra walked away, trying to get out. But it didn’t yield, and his claws only skittered across the material in high pitched squealing noises. Eventually, he tried to back up, intent on ramming into it, only to realize he could only move so far back.

He was trapped in a small tube.

Screaming, he pounded on the surface keeping him in, hoping to crack it. Hoping to free him.

Hoping that he would do anything but sit there as a prisoner of the Galra.


	2. Chapter 2

His tail hurt.

Kiyal tried to shift in his small tube, to stretch out his tail. But even when he managed to turn upside down, he couldn’t stretch enough to completely extend his tail. Grumbling to himself, Kiyal struggled back so everything looked correct. He sank down to the bottom of the tube, tired. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get the tube to break.

The Galra that had captured him came forward, chuckling. “You should rest up, fish. We’re about to enter into battle against a resisting planet. If your kind really is a good luck charm, we’re going to need all of it.”

Kiyal bared his fangs at him.

His rolling laughter came through the tube and water. “Your anger will be a good sign!” He turned away, heading for the helm, and Kiyal tried to ram the tube again, not able to move enough to pick up enough force.

A good luck charm. His father hadn’t said anything about that before. But his father hadn’t said a lot. He hadn’t said how he had gotten the materials for the things they had, why Kiyal couldn’t be seen, who his mother was... he looked down at his hands, at the claws and the webbing between them. The Galra had said he had Galra eyes...

Kiyal snarled, beating on the tube again. He wanted out! He wanted to kill all the Galra on the ship and go back to...

His lake wasn’t safe anymore. And... his father was missing anyway. Why was he still there? Obviously he wasn’t at the moment, but why would he want to go back? Shouldn’t there be something else out there, something better? His tail tapped against the bottom of the tube as he thought. The only thing that worried him was... he knew there was a world outside water. He had stuck his head slightly out of the water when he thought it was safe at night, feeling the not-water on his hair and skin. Could he live in the not-water?

It had to be better than being curled up in a tube, being considered a trophy and good luck charm by the Galra.

Kiyal twisted, trying to get comfortable. He needed a bigger tube. This made him cramp up. He curled up, watching the Galra. He’d find something. Find out how to kill the Galra and escape. He had to find what he needed to find.

Maybe a weapon to kill the Galra for good so no one else was captured like he was and kept as a good luck charm. Something better than the spear he had. Kiyal smiled at the thought of watching all the Galra bleed out before him on a much better weapon. If he had been able to retrieve the weapon his mother had left him before the Galra attacked-

It was probably better he hadn’t. They would have taken it. It was resting, safe, in his cave. When he could return, he’d retrieve it and then the Galra would be sorry. He’d have a proper blade then.

They’d be sorry.

  


* * *

  


”Yeah, but watch. Someday, my experience with mermaids is going to come in handy,” Lance told them, pouting.

Shiro laughed, the noise good natured, and patted his shoulder. “It’s a good thing you did free those mermaids, Lance. You did well.”

”See Pidge?” He gestured to Shiro. “ _He_ thinks I did a good thing!”

”With the added benefit of getting to kiss a cute mermaid,” Pidge said flatly.

”I don’t get to pick the benefits of helping cute mermaids.”

She laughed at that. “Okay, you got me. I’ll stop getting on you for hitting on the mermaids. We need to focus on what we found out with Shiro’s arm, anyway.”

”Right. What have you learned so far?” Lance asked.

”I think I found the coordinates Shiro said this Ulaz left in his arm.”

Lance looked away as they started to argue if they should follow the coordinates. He had always loved the water, taken to swimming after the mermaids better than Hunk... and yet trying to move Red in the water had felt like trying to roll a rock uphill.

He wasn’t meant to fly Red. This only proved it. He couldn’t fly her like he had Blue for that short period of time. But Blue wasn’t letting him in. He was just... a temporary pilot. He had to be. He had been a temporary pilot for Blue until Allura could pilot her, and now he was a temporary pilot for Red. That was the only answer. He wasn’t a real Paladin. He was a stand-in.

Then where was the real Red Paladin? Where could he... or she be? Or they or whatever gender the Red Paladin was? Lance went back to his room as everyone started to leave, jamming his hands into his pockets. Would the Red Paladin be okay? Was that was he was Red’s temporary pilot? The real Red Paladin was hurt somewhere? Or that the real Red Paladin was captured?

Suddenly, the Castle shifted under his feet, and Lance stumbled. “Whoa! Allura, what was that?” He rushed to the bridge as the Castle shuddered, expecting to hear they were under attack.

Once he got there, he saw Allura and Shiro standing there, confused. Pidge and Hunk entered shortly after, eyes wide. “What’s happening?” Lance asked. “Are we under attack?”

”No... the Red Lion is trying to leave its hangar.”

Lance’s heart froze, and sank. “Why is she trying to do that? She hasn’t done that before.”

”I do not know,” Allura said, frowning. “But we cannot let it leave. We do not know if it’s been hacked. Pidge, Hunk?”

”We’re on it, Princess,” Hunk told her, leaving with Pidge.

Leaving Lance hoping that was the case. That Red’s behavior was because she had been hacked. That had to be the answer. There couldn’t be any other answers.

  


* * *

  


Kiyal lifted his head, feeling flames lap at the edge of his consciousness.

Then close his eyes as it faded, leaving him completely.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the thing: I'm currently undergoing outpatient partial hospitalization. It's been... very overwhelming. I may not be able to update like I used to for the next two weeks while I go to this. I just have no brain power left after attending so many groups in one day, much less when I meet with the psych assigned to me or my therapist. I'll try on the weekends, though. Long story short, not gonna update quickly, have a chapter now.

The water in his tube was starting to taste stale. Kiyal curled up at the bottom of the tube, his energy sapped. Was any fresh water coming in at any time? He closed his eyes, feeling the water move through his gills. It didn’t feel... right. He didn’t... feel right.

”Fish.” Someone knocked on the tube and Kiyal opened his eyes slowly, glaring at the Galra that had him in captivity. “Wake up. We’re about to conquer another planet. We’re going to need your good luck.”

Kiyal glared at him, and clawed at the tube. That only made the Galra laugh and leave him, and Kiyal fell back down to the bottom of the tube, unable to get up again. It had taken more energy to do that than he wanted to admit. He closed his eyes, wondering what his fate was going to be. Would the Galra just let his water grow worse and worse, poisoning him until he died? It wasn’t as if he could communicate with the Galra... or could he? Kiyal moved towards the Galra, banging his hand against the tube to try to get his attention. When the Galra finally turned towards him, Kiyal raised his hand, running it over his head.

”Hm? Fish, are you feeling like you aren’t getting enough attention?” The Galra came over, squatting to look at him. Kiyal glared at him, pointing to his gills then swirling his hand over his head. “What is it you’re trying to tell me, I wonder...”

”Commander Yliz, perhaps the water isn’t to its liking?” another Galra suggested.

”Hm.” The Galra - Yliz - considered Kiyal for a moment. “Riklo. Change the fish’s water.”

Kiyal sighed, relaxing. Someone understood. Yliz placed a hand on the tube, chuckling. He glared at the Galra, baring his fangs. When he got out, Yliz was the first to die. He wasn’t going to let him get away. Just... right now, he was too tired to get up.

When he felt the water around him move, Kiyal sighed. New water was being pumped in. The new water tasted a little... strange. But it was new. Slowly, he opened his eyes, watching another planet fall before the Galra.

Bizarrely, it reminded him of the heat lapping at his brain. Something reaching out to him, wanting him. Kiyal placed his hands on the tube, as if he could reach out and take it. Hold it as one of his own.

But the heat didn’t return, and Kiyal lowered his hands. It was out there. He just... needed to get out of there. If... if he could live in the not-water. What was it really like out there? It had felt cold when he lifted his eyes out of the water. Seeing had been strange. It wasn’t like how it was underwater. And the world around him... it was so _strange._

But was it any stranger than seeing metal around him and Galra ordering the decimation of another planet? Kiyal watched the Galra move around him, flexing his hands. They would pay for abducting him. For forcing him into this tiny tube. For using him as ‘good luck.’

He wasn’t their good luck. He was going to be their doom.

  


* * *

  


Lance sat back on the bench, sprawled out. He needed to peel himself out of his flight suit and take a shower, but damn if he just wanted to sit there for a while and rest. They had just beaten Zarkon! How cool was that! But he was just so tired now...

Slowly, he looked up at the ceiling, wondering. Would they be able to go home now? But the Galras’ grasp reached far and wide... they’d need to shoo the Galra out of the corners of the universe like his mom used to shoo stray cats his sisters would feed out of the house. Lance chuckled suddenly at the thought of taking a broom and poking at the Galra until they left the planet they were inhabiting.

”Hey buddy.” Hunk sat down next to him, sighing at he relaxed as well. “We did it.”

”Yeah.” Lance continued looking up at the ceiling. “We beat Zarkon.”

”You okay?” Hunk’s voice grew concerned. “You don’t sound like you’re okay.”

”I’m just... wondering what the next step is. I mean, this can’t just be it and we can go home. It can’t be that easy.”

Hunk grew quiet. “I thought about that too,” he admitted after a while. “I mean, I’m not ready to give Yellow up yet, but... I want to go home.”

Hearing Hunk didn’t want to give Yellow up hit Lance hard. Red was great... but he would be okay giving her to good hands when it was time to go home. He knew it. He wasn’t meant to be a Paladin. “Yeah,” he said instead. “I want to go home too.”

After a moment, Hunk clasped his shoulder. “It’ll be okay, buddy. We’ll get through this and make it home in no time. Zarkon’s gone! We can finish the rest of this fast and go home.

”Yeah.” Lance sat up, smiling a little at Hunk. “Yeah, we can.”

He’d better start on it as soon as possible. The faster the universe was safe from the Galra, he sooner he could go home. And then it didn’t matter if he was supposed to be a Paladin or not. He would be home with his family.

Until then, he needed that shower.

  


* * *

  


”This planet has no strategic value,” Kiyal heard as he opened his eyes. What was going on now?

Yliz growled. “Prince Lotor has requested we take this planet. You will do well to keep your mouth shut.” He turned to Kiyal, a razor sharp grin on his face. “Now, fish, work your magic.”

Kiyal snapped at him.

Yliz laughed, turning his attention back to the display. Kiyal tried to stretch out the best he could, his muscles protesting at the motion. He needed out of here. He needed-

Heat lapped at his consciousness.

And then the ship shook.

”It’s Voltron, sir!”

Kiyal pressed his hands against the tube’s surface. What was Voltron?

Something purred in his mind as the ship shook again.

  


* * *

  


”We need to check everywhere,” Lance said, turning to Shiro. “There might be more prisoners. We’ve found prisoners in solitary before, remember?”

Shiro nodded as Pidge frowned. “Allura, you, Hunk, and Pidge take the prisoners back to the Castle. Lance and I-”

”I need to download the ship’s files,” Pidge interrupted. “So I need to stay here.”

”I can assure the prisoners’ safety,” Allura told him. “Hunk?”

”Yeah, sure, I can make it back with them.” He looked over at Lance. “But be careful, okay? I don’t want to see you in the pod again.”

”Hey, I’m the team’s sharpshooter. I pick the baddies away from a safe distance away,” Lance told him, raising his hand. Hunk clasped it, and they grinned at each other. “You got this, Hunk. Go save a bunch of people.”

”You too, man.”

With those words, they split up. Lance followed Shiro, keeping an eye in front of Shiro for any approaching Galra. But there weren’t any... had they taken them all out? Lance spun quickly, checking their back, before turning back around. They weren’t being followed...

Shiro opened another door, which... lead to the bridge. It seemed empty too except for a brightly lit tube. Lance walked over to it, curious... then gasped.

There was a _mermaid_ in there.


	4. Chapter 4

Lance raised his hand, gently resting it on the tube. Unlike the ones before, this one was... humanoid. He couldn’t tell right away if it was supposed to be male or female, since lack of breasts didn’t automatically mean male. The face was incredibly androgyne, almost beautiful. Lance felt uneasy at the yellow eyes, too Galra for his tastes with the purple skin and darker purple scales edging around its face, neck, and crawling up his hands to its elbows. But throughout the purple laid bioluminescent red lines, delicate like veins. Other than the yellow eyes, the only thing breaking up the purple was white hair, floating freely in the tube. The mermaid placed a clawed hand on the tube, opposite of Lance, and stared at him. Lance looked down and winced, realizing the mermaid had hit the top of the tube and wasn’t completely stretched out. The tube was too small for it.

”Shiro,” Lance started, turning towards him. “I-”

Suddenly, the mermaid slammed its hands against the tube, and a shriek filled the air. Lance took several steps back, aiming his bayard at him. The mermaid only snapped its teeth, sharp with two extended fangs, at him. It tried to swim the best it could, and Lance swore it looked _agitated._ It snapped its teeth again, and Lance got the feeling it wasn’t snapping its teeth at him. He turned just in time to dodge the rush of a large, almost reptilian Galra. The Galra came to a stop next to the tube, patting the tube as he looked over them. Lance could hear Shiro’s hand click on, and he aimed his bayard at the Galra.

”Good, fish,” the Galra said, smiling fiercely. “You brought to me two Paladins of Voltron. I will enjoy watching them breathe their last.”

Lance turned his eyes briefly to the mermaid, and watched it claw at the tube as if it could reach the Galra, baring its fangs and snapping at him. He turned his attention back to the Galra as he reached behind him, pulling out a rod. With a flick of the wrist, it extended to a pole. And Lance was pretty certain at least one of those ends was sharp. He took a few steps backwards as the Galra rushed them again, letting Shiro meet him as Lance pulled his bayard to his face, lining up the shot.

It was hard. He didn’t want to hit Shiro, and a stray shot may hit the tube. Lance kept his eye to the sights, waiting. Shiro met the pole’s sharp end with his prosthetic arm, forcing it to one side as he aimed a punch with his flesh hand at the Galra’s face. He just had to keep waiting...

The mermaid shrieked again, the sound turning high pitched and almost unbearable.

But as unbearable as it was for Lance, the Galra ended up stumbling back, away from Shiro and the tube, dazed.

And Lance took the shot.

It hit the Galra solidly in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

Shiro took the advantage to slam his prosthetic hand though the Galra’s chest armor as he tried to rise, blood rushing over his armor as he pulled his hand back.Lance felt sick as he turned away, looking at the mermaid. The mermaid looked back at him, wary. “Hey,” he whispered, lowering his bayard. “So uh... thanks.”

The mermaid just kept an eye on him, its claws scraping against the tube in warning.

God, Lance couldn’t leave it like that. Just watching its curled up tail made his heart hurt. “Shiro,” he called over his shoulder. “We have one more prisoner to free.”

Shiro came over, and Lance made sure not to look at the blood covered arm. He looked at the mermaid as well, silent for a moment. Then- “Pidge? Can you find something so we can transport a large tube of water?”

”Yeah, give me a second,” Pidge said over the com links. “You should be able to find a trolley in a nearby storage room. Try two doors down, on the left. What’s up?”

”Lance found a captive mermaid.”

”Of course he did.”

  


* * *

  


There was a sense of satisfaction when the black one took out the Galra. Kiyal turned his eyes back to the red one, trying to understand what he was seeing. Red head... but there was something under a film, what looked like a brown face. It looked like it had armor plating, but the belly was just black. Did it not have armor there? That sounded stupid.

But then it said they had one more prisoner to free... Kiyal shifted in the water, narrowing his eyes at it. What was its plan? What was it doing?

When the wheeled flat object came by again, Kiyal snarled, scraping at the tube. They were just taking him somewhere else! He wasn’t going to be a captive somewhere else. He pounded on the surface as the two of them placed his tube on the object after doing... something, ending the flow of new water.

And then he was moving.

Kiyal twisted, watching the red one hold the tube. He clawed at the tube, screaming. It didn’t matter what those things were saying to him, even it sounded soothing. He wasn’t going to be a captive somewhere else. He was going to make them all pay. He was-

The two of them picked him off the object and placed him in... something.

And Kiyal felt something warm in his head, welcoming him.

Kiyal twisted, looking around. It was mechanical as well, but... welcoming. There was something that the red one sat on, and two sticks it grabbed ahold of. Then Kiyal felt them move, and he placed his hands against the tube, trying to figure out what was going on. Where was he? Why... why did it feel this way?

Then they stopped moving, and he felt someone pick the tube up again. He looked down, seeing the white plating over the black hand again. Another hand picked it up from the top, and from the angle he was at, he could see pink on the plating. The two of them started taking him somewhere as he pounded at the tube.

When he was placed on the ground again, Kiyal scraped at the tube, snarling. Then- the top of the tube was ripped off, water starting to spill out. He recoiled, terrified. What was going on?

The tube tipped.

And Kiyal landed in water.

He instantly turned, looking up at the surface as his muscles protested finally being able to stretch completely out. There were five faces above him... but it didn’t matter. He needed a way out of here. A way home. Kiyal swam further down, looking to see where the bottom was. If there was a way out.

He met the strangely smooth bottom faster than he wanted to. He followed it to a equally strangely smooth rock, swimming around it... no, parallel to it. Then another rock met it and he followed it... it wasn’t until he reached the third rock that he realized it. He was trapped.

He was still captive.


	5. Chapter 5

”Are we really ready to take care of a mermaid?” Pidge asked, skeptically. “I mean, are we even sure it’ll be okay in the pool? I had fish growing up and we had to make sure of a lot of stuff before we introduced any new fish into the aquarium. We just had Allura rip the top off and dump the mermaid into the pool.”

”I agree with Pidge,” Hunk said. “And we should probably have someone go down there and tell him what’s going on. I mean, I’d be worried and kind of angry if I was just thrown into a pool without anyone telling me anything.”

Shiro nodded. “I understand what everyone is saying,” he told them. “And there were certain questions I needed to ask the mermaid anyway. Allura, look for nearby planets with water. I’ll be right back.” With those words, he checked his helmet, turned, and entered the pool. He could hear someone enter behind him, and sighed. “Go back to the surface.”

”No way.” Lance’s voice was serious. “You need someone to watch your back. And... I don’t know. This mermaid just feels... like it needs someone else there.”

Shiro sighed. “Fine. But be careful. If it’s really is dangerous, I don’t want you hurt.”

”Aye aye.”

They swam further to the bottom, watching the mermaid swim in agitated circles around. It kept patting the bottom, running its hands across the surface as if looking for something. Shiro frowned. Did it drop something? He cleared his throat, and the mermaid bolted upright, snarling.

”We’re not going to hurt you,” Shiro soothed. “We just have a few questions.”

”You’re not Galra.”

Shiro could feel himself jolt slightly at the mermaid’s voice. It was definitely a male voice. Did that mean this mermaid wasn’t... a “maid” per se? “No, we’re not. We’re human. We’re the Paladins of Voltron.”

The mermaid swam back and forth in front of them, yellow eyes narrowed. “Why did you take me from the Galra?”

”I couldn’t leave you there,” Lance said quietly. “You looked like you were in pain.”

The mermaid stopped, then swam quickly up to Lance’s face. Shiro started to reach out and grab the mermaid’s arm when Lance held out a hand, stopping him. “Why do you care?” the mermaid asked, demanding an answer.

”Because we were there to free prisoners from the Galra,” Lance told him. “And I couldn’t leave anyone behind, especially someone suffering like that because of some twisted belief by the Galra.”

The mermaid floated back a little, then turned to Shiro. “And you? Why do you care?”

”I’ve been a prisoner of the Galra,” he told him, his voice quietly serious.

That made the mermaid nod a little, looking down. “What do you want from me? You have me in another cage.”

”This is the only place we could think of that we hope had enough room for you and had water,” Shiro told him. “We’re looking for a safe planet for you to live on so you don’t have to worry about the Galra coming for you ever again.”

The mermaid cocked its... _his_ head a little, listening to something only he could hear. “What if I want to go home?”

”We can do that,” Lance spoke up, and Shiro wanted to shoot him a dirty look. There was no guarantee that the mermaid’s planet would be safe. “Just tell us where it is.”

Instead of answering, the mermaid deflated slightly. “I- I don’t know where... where it would be here in space.” He glared at Lance. “You figure it out.”

”Hey, why is it my job to figure it out?” Lance protested.

”You said you can get me home. Do it.”

”We can try,” Shiro said soothingly. “I just have a few more questions. Are you hungry?”

The mermaid nodded. “I wasn’t fed much.”

”What do you eat? We can get Hunk - one of the other Paladins - to make you something.”

”Oplan. Fresh oplan, still bleeding.”

”Uhhhh...” Shiro didn’t even need to look behind him to know Lance was making a confused disgusted face.

”What is oplan?” Shiro asked gently, probing.

The mermaid held out his hands, measuring. “A fish about this big. Green and purple scales. Huge fangs. It has a lot of meat on it.”

”Oh goodie, you’re a carnivore.”

Shiro ignored Lance. “Would any fish do?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. I’ve never had anything but oplan.”

”I’ll have Hunk see if he can find some fish. Is there anything you need? Is the water okay?”

”The water’s fine,” the mermaid muttered.

”I have a question,” Lance spoke up. “What... what’s your name?”

The mermaid jolted, swimming up slightly before darting back down. He swam side to side a bit, agitated. “Why do you care?” he hissed.

”Because my name’s Lance.”

Slowly, the mermaid came to a stop. “Kiyal,” he said slowly. “My name is Kiyal.”

”It’s nice to meet you, Kiyal,” Shiro said. “I’m Shiro, the leader of Voltron.”

”Shiro... Lance... Which one is Hunk?” Kiyal asked, his tail swaying lazily in the water.

”Hunk is the Yellow Paladin.”

”Yellow,” Kiyal muttered. “Shiro is Black, Lance is Red, Hunk is Yellow.”

”There’s also Pidge and Allura,” Lance told him. “Pidge is the Green Paladin, and Allura’s the Blue Paladin. Well, she wears pink to honor the Alteans she lost ten thousand years ago, but she still pilots the Blue Lion.”

Kiyal made a face. “I was just starting to understand what was going on too.”

  


* * *

  


”FISH?! Do you know how hard it is to get ahold of meat out here? And store it?”

”I didn’t make the dietary restrictions on our mermaid friend, Hunk.”


	6. Chapter 6

Someone swam towards Kiyal, holding something. He turned, seeing yellow markings. That was... Hunk? Was that what Lance and Shiro said its name was? Kiyal just waited, wary. What was the yellow one going to do? What did it have in its hands?

”Hey.” Kiyal felt his tail sway slightly at the friendly voice. It was a lot like Lance’s, but... a little afraid? What did it have to be afraid of? “So uh... Lance said you eat fish?”

”Yeah. I do.”

”Cool. Um... It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to trade for any meat and I had to really search for a way to store it and- well, what I’m saying is we got some fish.” It held out its hands, a long skinny red fish in them. Kiyal tilted his head, noticing the thickness of the fingers and the bluntness of the claws. What sort of predator was this creature if it had fingers like that? Maybe it wasn’t? It said it didn’t have meat here for a while. Kiyal snatched the fish from its hands, using his claws to start to skin the fish. “Oh- oh you’re going to do that right now.”

”I’m hungry,” he snapped. “I wasn’t exactly fed with the Galra.”

Hunk paused, its strange tail moving under it. “If you need more fish, let me know,” it said gently. “I can even skin and debone it for you before bringing it to you.”

”I’m not a kid,” Kiyal retorted. “I don’t need you treating me like my dad did when I was a kid.”

”I didn’t mean you were a kid!” Hunk said hastily, holding up its hands. “I meant I wanted to make things easier for you. I- I’m just making it worse, aren’t I.” Kiyal watched, fascinated as it looked like the brown face under the film grew _red_. “Kiyal, right? Kiyal, what Lance told us... It wasn’t like that for the other prisoners. They had room to move. Not a lot, but they could lay down. Stand up. Walk. You couldn’t even stretch completely out. And that- that makes a lot of us angry. The Galra treated someone like that for... for what reason? What reason justified them being cruel?”

”They thought I was a good luck charm,” Kiyal found himself admitted softly.

”It doesn’t justify what they did. So we want to do what we can to change that. To make you safe again.”

Heat filled him, winding through his mind as it purred. Kiyal closed his eyes. He didn’t understand where that heat had been coming from. It was comforting, almost familiar. But how could it have been? He didn’t know anything about this before. He wanted to go find out what it was, but... Kiyal opened his eyes, looking up at the surface. It was in the not-water. And he would have to go there.

”You okay, Kiyal?”

”What’s purring?” Kiyal asked, turning his head. “I keep hearing purring.”

Hunk went quiet. Then, softly, “Nothing’s purring, Kiyal.”

  


* * *

  


Lance took his helmet off as the door to his room closed behind him, feeling the sweat dry on the back of his head. That had been a hairy battle. Slowly, he started to peel himself out of his suit, his armor clattering to the floor. He started for the shower, intent on staying in there for a good long time. He needed this.

A thought occurred to him to check up on Kiyal as he stood under the spray of water, see how he was doing. But that would mean getting back into his suit. He could clean it quickly and get out all the sweat but man. After showering, it would feel wrong sliding back into the suit.

Even though he knew there might be a day he would have to do it anyway.

The lights cut out suddenly, the water stopping. Lance blinked, feeling off. Even when it was “dark” in the Castle, it never truly was dark. There was always some sort of ambient light. Being dark like this... felt wrong. He reached out, trying to find something to anchor himself. His fingertips found a wall just as the water blasted back on, making him yelp at the cold temperature. It rose quickly, but it still shocked him.

When the lights came back on, Lance let out a long sigh, turning off the water. Quickly, he dried off, dressing and heading out to find Allura or Coran. When he saw Coran with Hunk, their heads in a panel and talking animatedly, Lance came to a stop. “Hey. What happened there?”

”Just looks like something gave out,” Hunk told him. “This is a ten-thousand year old castle, so it’ll happen. Coran’s helping me find what I’m looking for. It’s set up really weird in here. Who puts this here, Coran, and not over here?”

”I did not make the Castle, so I cannot say,” Coran said apologetically.

Lance watched them work, something tickling at the back of his head. “So what exactly happened? I mean, my water was really cold when it came back on.”

”Probably everything reset itself.”

Everything reset... itself...

Lance’s eyes went wide.

They had to rotate the pool room so they could put Kiyal in the water. If it reset-

Lance spun around and ran for the elevator. It couldn’t move fast enough for the pool, despite how many times he mashed the button. Finally, the doors opened, showing the pool room.

With no pool before him.

And a purple lump on the floor.


	7. Chapter 7

Something was out there. Something kept calling him, kept saying he needed to find it.

Kiyal swam back and forth, trying to figure it out. It was in the not-water. That would mean he would have to get in the not-water and find it. So... how would he do that? He didn’t know how. He didn’t even know what it was like in the not-water.

... well. Not as if he couldn’t find out. Slowly, he swam to the surface, and stuck his fingers out, feeling the coolness against them. He wiggled his fingers, amazed at how they moved in the not-water. It was like they moved faster. Carefully, he swam far enough up to stick his eyes over the surface, looking around. There was a type of... rim around him. He swam over to one of the sides, curling his fingers on it. The side felt... different. Almost rough in comparison to the rock in the water. He slid his fingers up over the edge of the rim, stretching his arms out of the water as well.

... maybe it would be okay if he pulled his head out of the water, leaving his gills under to breathe. Kiyal pushed his head out to see over the side, marveling at what he could see now. It was a flat white rock, leading to more flat white rocks with a strange design and a very clean cut opening. Without thinking, he tensed to move further up.

Which was when it went dark.

There was no light for Kiyal’s eyes to catch onto. Instantly, he swam back down to the bottom of the water, grasping for a weapon he did not have. When that happened, there was a beast nearby that wanted to eat him. He needed to kill it first. He thought he was alone here, but-

The water around him shifted. Kiyal tensed, waiting. He could find some way to fight. He just-

Something pulled him down. Away from the bottom. Kiyal’s claws scraped against the bottom in an attempt not to move, but all he could find was the smooth bottom. It yanked him down, down-

And into the not-water, landing hard onto the rock.

He didn’t even notice when the light returned.

He couldn’t breathe.

Pain filled him as he tried to pull himself across the smooth rock, tried to find more water, but he couldn’t breathe, his tail _hurt_ -

They had rescued him only for him to die was his last thought before he passed out.

  


* * *

  


Lance could hear the elevator descend behind him, picking up new passengers. That didn’t matter to him. They had just rescued someone, and now that someone was in danger of dying because of a stupid shorting out. He rushed over to the lump, swallowing hard when he saw Kiyal’s pained faced. He’d need to get Kiyal back into the water. Rotate the room, get him back-

Kiyal gasped suddenly, taking in a deep lungful of air. Lance blinked dumbly, looking down at him. Slowly, he kneeled, taking Kiyal in. He looked unconscious... but he was _breathing_. Like something out of the water would do. With lungs. Lance looked at his neck, seeing barely there red lines that may have been overlooked gills before, now sealed up. The scales had receded, almost completely gone. And...

And Kiyal didn’t have a tail anymore.

Well... okay he did.

A cat tail.

But he had legs. And at the end, it looked like his feet ended in a type of paw.

Lance felt uneasy looking at him, memories of certain other Galra starting to come to mind.

The elevator behind him opened, and Allura ran out with the other Paladins and Coran. “Is Kiyal okay?” Shiro asked, coming beside Lance.

”He uh...” Lance cleared his throat. “He... um... pulled a Little Mermaid?”

Shiro gave him a confused look, then looked back down at Kiyal. Lance could tell when he saw the tail and legs, his back straightening. “I see.”

”What do you mean, Lance?” Allura asked, coming closer. “I do not-” Her voice cut off when she saw Kiyal as well. “Are those legs and a tail?” she demanded, her voice cold.

”Whoa, really?” Hunk rushed forward, leaning between Lance and Shiro. “Wow! It really is like the Little Mermaid! If the Little Mermaid turned into a... cat-like... Galra...” Hunk’s voice trailed off as the room realized what was before them.

”They were keeping him prisoner,” Lance said quietly. “If he’s Galra, he’s not like any of the others we’ve fought before. He might even be like the Blade of Marmora. He’s not a bad guy.”

”We must still be wary,” Allura insisted. “We don’t know what sort of Galra he truly is, if he is Galra-” She broke off as Kiyal made a soft noise, opening his eyes. Lance felt a chill run down his spine as those yellow eyes landed on him, making him seem more and more Galra.

Kiyal didn’t move for a moment, looking at Lance blankly.

Then lunged at him, claws first. He couldn’t get far, uncoordinated in open air, but his claws still grazed Lance’s nose before Lance jerked back. Shiro grabbed Kiyal’s arms, holding him back. Lance wiped his nose, looking down at the blood on his fingers in shock. “Dude!”

”I’m not going to be a prisoner anymore,” Kiyal growled. “The Paladins of Voltron are going to find you and kill you.”

Everyone grew quiet. “Does Kiyal not recognize us without our armor?” Hunk finally asked quietly.

Kiyal turned his head towards Hunk, growling. “Stop sounding like Hunk. You don’t have the yellow and white!”

Lance blinked. Then stood, running for the elevator. “I’ll be right back!”

It felt like it took too long for him to descend to the proper floor, find his room, grab his armor and flight suit, and return to the pool. When he did, Kiyal was sitting up with Shiro still holding his arms back, staring at his legs in a daze. Lance bent down, holding out his armor and flight suit. “Is this what you’re thinking of? It’s removable armor and a flight suit.” He took his helmet, putting it on.

Kiyal stared at Lance.

Then-

”WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!”


	8. Chapter 8

What was wrong with his tail? What was _wrong with his tail_?!

Kiyal felt the heat at his back at his stared at his tail, how it wouldn’t curl the way it should. It only curled one way - up - and at a certain point. And his fins... he shifted, feeling them slide across the rock strangely. He looked up at the dark skinned white haired being, and started breathing heavily at the disapproving and almost distrusting look on its face. Kiyal watched how the bright... thing around it moved and the hair fell, not floated around its face. What was the not-water? How could things move like this?

”We’re going to need to get him clothes,” the Hunk-voice said. Kiyal glared at him, feeling his hair plaster against his head. Why wasn’t it floating above him? It should have been floating.

And what were clothes?

When the brightly colored brown skinned Lance-voiced thing came back, strange tail moving quickly across the rock, it held out something familiar. The white and red armor, and black skin. Then it put something on its head, and Kiyal felt his heart jump as he realized that was Lance’s head. Exactly Lance’s, brown face under the film included.

”WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!” His father would have smacked him for his words, but they were accurate. He didn’t know what was going on anymore. Lance had taken off an exoskeleton? Was that it? He called it removable armor... Kiyal tried to pull away from the hold, wiggling in the not-water as if he could swim away. But he couldn’t. This wasn’t water. He didn’t have a proper tail anymore. He couldn’t swim anymore.

”We’re not going to hurt you,” came a Shiro-voice behind him. Kiyal tried to look behind him, panting. “We’re just as surprised as you are, Kiyal. Come on. I’m going to pick you up and we’re going to rotate the room again so you can get into the water.”

”We should be more cautious around someone as Galra-” the dark skinned white haired being started before Kiyal jumped, looking around frantically. Galra? The Galra were here? But weren’t the Paladins of Voltron going to keep him safe? They promised! He was going to be safe!

”Allura.” The Shiro-voice was calm as Kiyal was lifted, and it felt so strange. Something dangled _under_ him at a point he bent at. “He’s not Galra. He’s scared.”

”Who’s- what are you talking about?” Kiyal demanded, feeling the thing under him sway. “What do you mean about the Galra? Are they here?”

”He doesn’t know what’s going on,” a new voice said. Kiyal turned his head, seeing someone else, smaller than the rest, with something on their face that covered their eyes. “I’d say back off, Allura. At least until we know more.”

Allura narrowed its eyes at him as he looked back at it, then stepped back. “We will speak about this at a later time.”

”Coran.” Kiyal looked around, trying to figure out which of the beings was this Coran. When an oranged haired being stepped forward, he stared at it. That was Coran. The other was Allura. They both had pointed ears. Allura was dark, he was light. Allura’s bright colors moved around it, Coran’s didn’t. He could figure this out. “If you could rotate the room so Kiyal could get back into the water.”

”Right away, number one!” Coran walked over to the vertical rock, doing something. “Oh. Oh dear... it appears the short disabled that function. We will not be able to rotate the room until we fix that.”

The words meant nothing to Kiyal.

”How long will that take?”

”Well, with Hunk’s help, I would say less than a quintent! By dinner tonight, Kiyal should be swimming again just fine!”

The thing under him moved quickly as his heart picked up. He wanted to be swimming again. That would be nice. The not-water wasn’t good. He didn’t like it.

”In the meantime, I’m going to set Kiyal up with a room and some clothes,” the Shiro-voice said. “And explain some things to him.”

Kiyal shifted to look up at the being above him. Black hair cut short to his hair with a tuft of white, a scar across the nose... was that the Shiro he had seen under the film? Was this actually Shiro? He closed his eyes as he was moved, feeling uneasy. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like being moved in the not-water.

He only opened his eyes again when he was set down on something soft. It felt... really nice. Kiyal looked around him, seeing the strange rocks and... what was he _seeing?_ He didn’t understand any of this. The slab under him was _squishy_ and had soft things on top of it. He looked up as... Shiro? Set himself next to him. “You must have a lot of questions,” he said quietly.

”What the fuck is going on?” Kiyal demanded. “Where... what kind of thing is this not-water? What happened to my tail and fins? Where am I? What’s clothes?”

Shiro sighed. “Well, I’ll try to explain the best I can. We call the ‘not-water’ air and land. You’re in the Castle of Lions, and right now you’re in a guest room so you can rest and be away from everyone else while we figure out how to rotate the pool. Your tail and fins turned into legs and feet.” Here, Shiro slapped one... leg? With his hand and pulled it up to rotate his... foot? “They’re useful to move around on land.”

Kiyal looked down at his... legs and carefully lifted it up. The... foot looked... strange. Shaped differently than Shiro’s. But he wasn’t the same as Shiro, so... that would be okay, right?

”And clothes are what I’m wearing.” Shiro plucked at the black thing on his chest, making it move away then fall back. “They’re meant to keep us warm since we don’t have much fur, and it’s also generally considered impolite not to wear clothes.”

Kiyal noticed suddenly the hand he used to pluck the black thing on his chest wasn’t the same as his other hand. He pointed to it. “What’s that?”

Shiro turned very quiet. “Things happened to me while I was in Galra custody,” he finally said, his voice solemn. “I lost a hand. They saw fit to give me this.”

That... Kiyal tried to swim away, forgetting he was in the not... in the air and land and ended up falling over off the soft slab. Shiro laughed gently, helping him back up. “I don’t like the air and land,” Kiyal grumbled.

”We’re working on finding a safe planet with plenty of water for you,” Shiro soothed him. “And the pool room will be fixed within a day. Until then, lay down and get some rest.”

Kiyal nodded. Then- “What did... Allura mean about the Galra? There were no Galra there, right?”

Shiro didn’t answer.


	9. Chapter 9

It was after dinner. Lance paced, waiting for news that they could take Kiyal back to the pool. Coran hadn’t come back yet saying it was time. Had something happened?

”You’re making me dizzy,” Pidge grumbled under her breath, typing something quickly.

”Where’s Coran? Shouldn’t he be here soon to say ‘Oh, the room is fixed. Kiyal will be swimming again swimmingly!’” Lance let the Coran impression slip from his face as soon as he finished the sentence, looking at the door. “I mean... Kiyal’s not a land animal. He needs to swim.”

”He has legs and feet now, Lance. He can be a land animal if he wants to.” Pidge looked up at him, her eyes saying something her voice wasn’t saying.

And Lance heard it loud and clear: Kiyal looked Galra. Out and out Galra, even with the white hair. They had seen all kinds of Galra. Furry, reptilian, whatever Zarkon was... could there be mermaid Galra? Did they have a mermaid Galra on board? “Kiyal can’t be... well, evil,” Lance told her. “They were keeping him captive. And what the commander said and how Kiyal reacted... he wasn’t there of his own free will. He has a reason not to like the Galra. Even if he’s- he might be like the Blade of Marmora. Like Ulaz and Thace, remember?”

”I just don’t know, Lance,” Pidge said, sighing. “I mean, yeah, I saw how confused Kiyal was when he saw his legs for the first time and how he didn’t recognize any of you without your armor on, so I get the idea that he’s never been on land and doesn’t understand the concept of clothing. But we don’t know what he would have done in the past. He might have been a spy for Zarkon that was caught.”

Lance didn’t know what to say about that.

”Maybe he’s just a confused mermaid that happens to look Galra on land. I don’t know. I wish we could take samples, but we’re not here to do tests on who we rescue. Kiyal needs to be somewhere safe, and not be afraid of us because we took blood and skin samples to figure out what’s going on here.”

”Yeah, that wouldn’t make me feel safe either,” Lance muttered.

Pidge put her laptop aside, standing. “I’ll go see what the holdup is. Why don’t you go check up on Kiyal? He might need someone to help him with some land stuff.”

”Sounds like a plan,” Lance told her, giving her a thumbs up. On his way to the guest room Shiro had told everyone Kiyal was resting in, he started thinking about what Pidge said. Kiyal might have been a spy for Zarkon. Might have been spying somewhere to report back to Zarkon and was caught by other Galra. That might not have known. Or might have been resentful.

Or he could have been an innocent mermaid, swimming in his waters when the Galra attacked.

Neither sounded particularly good to him.

  


* * *

  


There were wiggling bits on the end of his... feet.

And soft things on the bottom that squished.

Kiyal held his foot up to his face, bending over as well to studying it. There were also really short claws at the end. Those were useless. But what were those soft squishy things? He pressed them again, frowning before putting his leg down.

That didn’t even get into the weird lumps between his legs. They... dangled. He didn’t like it. It reminded him of the dangling thing under him. Which... Kiyal groped for it, finally finding it. A long purple thing with a tuft at the end. It was... twitching in his hand, and he could feel how it felt. What was it. Kiyal let it go, looking back between his legs. A lump about the width of his palm and a sack with something in it. What was that?

But it felt good to hold the lump in his hand...

And then the door opened. Kiyal dropped the lump to hold his claws up, ready to attack. Even though he couldn’t move in the air and land well.

”Oh dear God, you had found your dick and was jerking it,” Lance said, embarrassed. “Dude, I’m sorry. That’s like the number one thing you shouldn’t do: Interrupt a guy’s solo time.”

”You make no sense,” Kiyal told him crossly. He missed Shiro already.

”Sorry.” Lance smiled, putting himself down next to him. “If you want to continue, like, just throw me out. I just wanted to check up on you and make sure you’re doing okay.”

”I’m fine,” Kiyal said. “Just... figuring out what’s going on. Like, what’s this?” Kiyal shifted to hold his foot up to Lance’s face and ended up falling backwards onto the bed.

”Whoa!” Lance leaned back from his foot. “You okay there?”

”I don’t like the air and land,” Kiyal growled. “But what’s this? The squishy bits.”

Lance was silent for a moment. Then, in awe, “You have toe beans.”

Kiyal struggled to get back up, and Lance helped him, guiding him to put his foot down first before helping him sit. “That’s what they are? Toe beans?”

”Technically, they’re called paw pads. Cats on Earth have them. In English, among the cat loving community, they’re called toe beans.”

Kiyal made a face. “That’s confusing.”

Lance laughed. “Yeah, I get that. I remember what it was like when I was first learning English and translating slang that didn’t have a Spanish equivalent.”

Kiyal tilted his head. “What?”

”Nothing, nothing.” Lance shook his head.

That made Kiyal glare at him, but eventually he looked down at the long purple thing. He held it up, feeling it twitch in his hand. “What’s this?”

”A tail. More like a cat’s tail than what you’re used to. It’d probably help you balance while you walk.”

”This is _not_ a proper tail,” Kiyal retorted.

”Hey, like I said, it’d probably be more for balance.” Lance suddenly got up. “Let’s see if you can walk!”

Kiyal glared at him.

”Come on. Give me your hands.”

”I _will_ attack you if you try.”

”Lance.” Kiyal didn’t think he’d be so happy to hear Shiro’s voice. He came in, looking at Kiyal. “It’ll have to be a few more days, Kiyal. Something fried, and Coran’s unable to find a replacement at the moment. Hunk’s building him a new one and he said it’d take maybe two or three more days.” He smiled, remorseful. “I’m sorry.”

Kiyal frowned. More time in the air and land. He didn’t like that.

But he didn’t have a choice.

”Do you have any questions?”

Just one question came to mind, one that had been bothering him since Lance answered and said that one word... he pointed at Lance. “What’s a dick?”

Shiro choked.


	10. Chapter 10

Kiyal did not like his new “tail.” Not one bit. He had just managed to get comfortable when the damned thing twitched. And that made him uncomfortably aware of that part of his body. Once he started to notice it, the “tail” wouldn’t stop twitching. He tried to lean over to grab it, and ended up falling off the surface as he leaned too far over.

And the “tail” ended up slipping out of his grasp anyway. Kiyal rolled over, reaching for it again. He almost caught it when it slipped away under him, flicking away on its own, and he rolled to the other side, growling.

He heard someone cough, and looked up to see Shiro with “clothes” in his arms. “Do you need help getting up?”

”I need help making my stupid new tail stop twitching,” Kiyal told him.

Shiro laughed. “I can’t do that. It has its own nerve endings.” He put the “clothes” down and helped Kiyal up. For a moment, Kiyal felt his feet against the floor, weight being put on them, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about that before Shiro settled him back on the flat surface. “You okay now?”

”Yeah...” Kiyal looked up at Shiro, remembering how red Shiro’s face had gotten during the ‘dick’ talk. Lance had started talking about slang again, whatever that was, and had mentioned it could be a type of person but he had used it in regard to a part of Kiyal’s body... “You kind of got mad at Lance about the dick thing and said he was bullshitting me.”

Groaning, Shiro covered his face with his organic hand. “Yes, I suppose I did,” he muttered as he lowered his hand.

”Is this embarrassing? I mean... it’s something I don’t know.”

”I’m just... not emotionally or mentally ready to have this talk yet. Normally this would be the kind of talk you’d have with your kid, explaining the differences between boys and girls,” Shiro explained. “Except that kind of difference is a lot more fluid than just... nevermind. Humans are complex. I’m just not ready to have that talk, but I’m the only human that wouldn’t bullshit you or be too embarrassed to talk about it.” Shiro took a deep breath, nodding. “Lance wasn’t wrong. ‘Dick’ can be slang for a part of a body, more specifically a type of genitalia. It’s what, at least for humans, what can be used to impregnate someone.”

Kiyal looked down between his legs in horror. He didn’t want kids!

”We’re going to try to get you back in the water as soon as possible, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

”You just said I could make someone have kids! I’m not ready to fertilize eggs and have them hatch and have a bunch of little-”

Shiro groaned, putting a hand over his face. “Lance, I am going to kill you for having to make me give him the sex talk,” he grumbled, barely loud enough for Kiyal to hear him. “Okay, so. First off, sex is a lot more complicated than that...”

  


* * *

  


Kiyal was never having sex. Ever.

And his face felt so hot by the time Shiro left, Shiro’s own face embarrassed and red.

That was the worst thing he had ever had to sit through here so far.

Kiyal groaned, letting himself fall over so he laid down on the soft surface. He wanted his real body back. He hated this body.

Heat lapped at his brain, comforting and warm. Purring filled his ears. Telling him it would be okay. Everything would be okay. They were there for him-

Kiyal opened his eyes suddenly, awkwardly forcing himself up.

Who was there for him?

  


* * *

  


”We haven’t heard anything from Lotor for a while,” Hunk said, worried. “I mean, that’s bad. He should be doing stuff. We should be fighting him.”

Lance watched him reconnect things for the pool room without even looking at them, feeling envious. Hunk was _good_ with mechanical things. Genius, even. “He’s probably licking his wounds after the beatdown we gave him. Shiro really outthought him in that last one.”

”Yeah, but they still have that ship made from the comet.” Hunk looked at him, hands still moving. “I mean, that’s still from the same stuff as Voltron. That’s not good.”

”I know, buddy.” Lance clasped his shoulder. “But we’ll kick his ass any time we need to! So it doesn’t matter how long he’s quiet. We’ll kick his ass.”

”I hope so,” Hunk muttered, turning his attention back to what he was working on long enough to turn it on and make sure it worked. “Try it now, Coran!”

The pool started to rotate around the room, sliding to a stop before them. “Alright!” Lance crowed. “Now time to get Kiyal.” He turned for the elevator, pushing the button to descend to the floor Kiyal was on.

Kiyal was going to be so happy. He could finally swim again. No more sitting around awkwardly, not sure what to do. And then they could find a planet for him. And then they could go back to fighting the Galra. This would work out perfectly.

”Hey, Kiyal!” Lance said as the door opened. “The pool’s... working...”

Kiyal wasn’t in the room. The bed only held a change of clothing, long forgotten by whoever had brought it.

Lance turned instantly, running. He had been wrong. Kiyal was a mermaid Galra. He was a spy. He was going to hurt them. He-

How could he have been so dumb? It had been the tail. Mermaid, ooh. Look at Lance, dazzled by anything sea related. Blinded by the idea of rescuing another friend of the sea that he didn’t realize it was an enemy. A shark, and he was bleeding already.

How could he have been so dumb?

As he ran down the halls, he saw something purple turn a far corner. Kiyal’s tail. Lance ran even faster, trying to catch him. He was-

It hit him when he realized where Kiyal was going, and his heart froze.

Kiyal was headed towards the Lions.


	11. Chapter 11

If he ran faster- just a little bit faster, he could reach Kiyal before he got to the Lions and did whatever he was going to do to them- Lance tried to run faster, to catch up to Kiyal. He had to get there before Kiyal did-

Damn it. They were all so stupid. _Lance_ had been so stupid to trust Kiyal had been innocently asking questions about his body. Kiyal should have been locked up. His innocence had been fake. He knew how to walk this entire time. He was just waiting for the others to trust him. Why had they trusted him? Because he had been in a tube? Damn it. The Galra were not to be trusted. Only the Blade of Marmora could be trusted.

When Lance turned the corner, he saw Kiyal walking unsteadily, leaning against the wall, his tail swinging side to side. One leg gave out under him, and he crashed to the ground. As Lance started running towards him, Kiyal pushed himself back to his feet, nearly falling over again, before taking several unsteady steps forward. He was heading towards Red’s hangar. He was- Lance grit his teeth.

He managed to catch up to him when Kiyal started to fall again, catching him. “Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded, pulling him up.

”What’s down there?” Kiyal asked, his voice sounding... distant.

”Nothing,” Lance said shortly. “Pool’s ready.”

”I can hear something... purring.” Kiyal pulled his arm free of Lance’s grasp, staring down the hall. “And someone’s... calling me.”

Lance’s heart jumped into his throat. He couldn’t be talking about... no. He was jumping to conclusions. “Come on. Come get your tail back.”

Kiyal took a step forward, the hand against the wall reaching forward, reaching for something.

Red roared.

”Holy crow!” Lance looked up towards the hangars, mouth growing dry. What was going on? Why... why did Red roar? A trickle of dread filled him as Kiyal took another faltering step forward towards the roar. “Kiyal...”

But he didn’t stop him as Kiyal walked into the hangar.

Lance followed, swallowing.

Red was just sitting there, pretty as could be. She was a lovely Lion as usual. Beautiful. _Lance’s_.

And Kiyal was looking up at her in wonder. “What is that?”

”A Lion of Voltron. _My_ Lion.”

Kiyal stretching his free hand up towards her face, as if he could pet her metal cheeks.

Red’s eyes flashed on, and she roared again. The noise flew through Lance, grabbing his heart and yanking it to his knees. Kiyal took a step forward, his hand leaving the wall.

And immediately crashed to his knees.

Lance came over to him, pulling him up. He looked at Red, his breath freezing in his throat. She couldn’t- She-

”This is what I’ve been hearing,” Kiyal said in wonder. “You.”

”Come on,” Lance said quietly. “The pool’s ready.”

  


* * *

  


The water felt so good against Kiyal’s skin. That was, until pain lanced through him as his new legs started to turn into a tail and he couldn’t breathe. Kiyal clawed at his throat, starting to feel his gills slowly open up again. Oh. He relaxed, waiting for them to open, enjoying how everything felt once they opened and his tail was back. _His tail was back._ He knew how to move like this. To swim, to do _everything._ He wasn’t hitting the rock so hard so often because he couldn’t move. This was good.

But... Kiyal looked up, seeing the faces of the Paladins above him. And imagining the Lion of Voltron. Red... a red Lion.

Kiyal swam upward, sticking his head out of the water, making sure to keep his gills underwater. He didn’t know what would happen if he did that. “Thanks.”

”We’ll work on getting you somewhere safe,” Shiro promised.

Kiyal nodded, disappointed. He wanted to go home, but if the Galra were- wait. “You guys fight the Galra, right? Then why can’t you go to my home and beat them there? Kick them off so I can go home?”

”You know, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” Hunk said. “I don’t like the idea of displacing Kiyal for his own safety.”

”And we would be able to liberate another planet,” Pidge pointed out.

”Coran, can you do a search to see what planet oplan comes from?” Shiro asked, turning to him. “It’s a type of fish Kiyal eats.”

”Of course.” Coran puffed up. “I will get right on it.

Kiyal watched Coran’s head leave, turning his attention to Shiro. “How long will that take?”

”I don’t know.” Shiro’s head came closer. “We could know where your planet is by the time we’re done talking and then we’re on our way to fight, or it could take a while. This castle is ten thousand years old and I don’t think anything, not even its databases, have been updated in that time. But if we can’t find it, we have allies. We might be able to ask the Blade of Marmora to check their databases and see if they have something.”

”Blade of Marmora?”

”They’re Galra resistance fighters.” Shiro nodded at Kiyal’s wide eyes. “We had to learn not all Galra are evil too. They want the Galra empire broken up as much as we do.”

Kiyal thought about that. Not all Galra were evil...

”Hey, Kiyal...” Lance’s voice was quiet. “What’s your race? Like... what are you?”

”Hm?”

”Well... Hunk, Pidge, Shiro, and I are human. Allura and Coran are Altean. What... what are you?”

”I...”

Kiyal’s eyes grew wide again.

”I... I don’t know. My father never told me.”

”What about your mother?”

”I never met her. Why? Why do you want to know?” Kiyal suddenly slammed his hand against the rock’s rim, growling. “What’s with those questions?!”

Lance didn’t answer.


	12. Chapter 12

His head felt too full. Blade of Marmora, the way he had been guided by something beyond him to move against the rock, the roar in his head echoed by the Lion- A Lion of _Voltron_... Kiyal swam to the bottom, scraping his claws against the rock before curling up, trying to piece it all together. What did it all mean? He swam back up to the surface, peeking his eyes over the edge of the water. No one was around... No one he could ask.

And why did Lance ask about what race he was? Kiyal swam back down, running his claws over his scales. They had disappeared when he was in the air and land. He had legs and feet when he was in the air and land. Why? Why did he... have those things? What was he?

He remembered the Galra saying he had Galra eyes, and shuddered. No. He wasn’t Galra. He couldn’t be.

But... what was he?

A part of him told him that he would find out if he went back into the air and land. It was waiting for him there. What he needed. What he wanted. He just needed to go back out there.

Kiyal let his head fall back under the surface, staring up. He slowly swam down to the bottom, his tail flicking lazily as he turned, staring.

Then, powerfully, he swam for the surface, grabbing the rim when he broke free and pushing himself over into the dry rock.

Once he was over the pain of his gills sealing up for whatever reason and his tail turning into legs and that... weird tail, he pushed himself upward, feeling his legs quake under him. He hesitantly tried moving forward, feeling his tail behind him in a way that almost... comforted him. It didn’t help when he fell onto the bending bits, but he just got back up and continued moving.

He’d have to ask what this movement was at some point.

Where would he start asking, though? He needed to start somewhere, and with someone. He didn’t trust Lance. Not after the dick conversation. Shiro knew a lot. He could ask Shiro.

If he could move to find him. He kept falling. Kiyal growled, pushing himself back up. He could do this. He could make his way to find Shiro. He could-

Heat in his head.

No.

 _Fire_ in his head, the purr said. This is fire. These are flames. This is _you_.

Fire and flames and a purr and a roar and-

A hand clasped his shoulder, cold in comparison. “Hey, Kiyal,” he heard Lance say, concerned. “Is everything okay? You’re out of the water.”

Kiyal turned to look at him. “I don’t know,” he said quietly. “I- I have questions but- What is fires, Lance, and why do I feel like it’s _me_?”

Lance looked at him for a moment, then down at his feet. “I don’t know,” he said, equally quiet. “I mean...”

Kiyal growled, pushing him away. “If you don’t know, I don’t need you. I need answers. I need to know why I hear purring in my head, why the Lion roared, why-”

Lance grabbed him, and shoved him against the rock. “Red’s my Lion!” he screamed in Kiyal’s face. “Not yours! I’ve already lost Blue to Allura. I’m not losing another Lion! I’m not becoming useless... I... I can’t be useless to this team...” Slowly, he let go of Kiyal, his arms visibly shaking as he did so.

For a moment, Kiyal didn’t move, his mind shocked by what just happened. He didn’t know what any of that meant. What was Lance losing? Then... he snarled, swiping at Lance’s face.

Lance stumbled back, red blood spilling from his cheek. “What the fuck, dude?!”

”You attacked me first,” Kiyal shot back. “You shoved me against the wall.”

”I-” Lance let out a frustrated sounding breath. “I just... If you’re Red’s actual pilot, then I’m... I’m nothing, Kiyal. Blue rejected me and took Allura. I can’t... I can’t lose Red.” Kiyal watched, fascinated, as liquid rose to Lance’s eyes and he started wiping them away. “What reason will I have to be here if I lose Red?”

”I’m not trying to take your Lion,” Kiyal told him, crossly. “I’m just trying to figure out what all this is. This... I don’t know what the air and land is. I don’t know anything about any of this. Even if I’m... Red’s actual pilot, I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know what that means!”

Lance stared at him for a moment, then sighed, the blood running down his cheek staining his shirt. “Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t,” he muttered. “I just- Kiyal... I was a _cargo pilot_ back on Earth. I wanted to be more but... but I just wasn’t good enough. And now I’m in space and I’m a Paladin of Voltron. Which is great! I’m something useful now! But I...” He looked away. “I guess I can’t be too useful, huh?”

”I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on at all.”

Lance sighed, looking back at him. “Yeah. You don’t know anything. You don’t even know you look Galra, especially without your scales and with that tail.”

Kiyal felt himself freeze.

Then he screamed, launching himself at Lance claws first. He wasn’t Galra. He wasn’t- He-

Hands grabbed him, pulling him back. But it didn’t matter. He wasn’t Galra. Lance was lying. He didn’t look Galra. He wasn’t Galra!

”Kiyal.” Shiro’s voice made him pause for a moment, shaking. “Stop. Lance. What happened here?”

”We were just talking! Then Kiyal decided he wanted to take my face off or som-”

”You called me Galra!”

The words hung in the air. He looked behind him at Shiro, waiting for him to say Kiyal was obviously not Galra. That Lance was wrong. That-

But Shiro never said that.

Instead, he pulled Kiyal back. “Come on. You should get back to the pool.”

”No!” Kiyal yanked himself away, falling onto the floor. “Tell me,” he ordered as he got up, legs shaking. “Tell _him_ I’m not Galra. It’s obvious. I’m not.”

Shiro’s eyes closed, and Kiyal watched as he didn’t say a thing, only stood there silently. He looked down at his hands in horror. He... he couldn’t be Galra. The Galra didn’t- didn’t live in the water- they only lived in the air and land- but, his mother, who was his mother-

Kiyal didn’t notice when he fell to the bottom again, still looking at his hands.


	13. Chapter 13

Kiyal didn’t know. It was written in every line of his body, the widening of his eyes. The slumping defeat when he realized even Shiro wasn’t correcting Lance. Kiyal didn’t know he looked Galra. He didn’t know anything about what was going on.

Lance found he couldn’t care. His heart hurt at the thought of Kiyal putting on the red armor, pushing him aside to become the Red Paladin. Making him useless. He wasn’t anything on Earth. Why should he be anything in space? Why would he even be an actual Paladin? Red had her Paladin here: A Galra mermaid. She didn’t need a useless human like-

With that thought, Lance turned sharply on his heel, heading back to his room. Shiro didn’t need him to talk to Kiyal, to explain what was going on. He was useless. He didn’t need to be there. Lance slammed his hand on the sensor lock to his room, opening the door. Once it shut behind him, he wiped at his cheeks, hissing in pain as his palms ran over the cuts. Right. Kiyal had swiped at him.

Slowly, Lance made his way to the bathroom, grabbing a washcloth as he went. When he looked up at a mirror, he didn’t even recoil. He knew he’d be bloody. The shirt starting to stain around the collar sucked, but expected. His eyes were red and puffy, and he just looked...

Not there.

Useless.

Lance wet the washcloth and slowly started to pat at the wounds, cleaning them up. It wasn’t enough to warrant a trip to the cryopods, so he didn’t bother thinking about that. A brief thought of what kind of bacteria and the such laid on Kiyal’s claws crossed his mind, but... it didn’t matter.

When the wounds were clean, he looked at himself in the mirror. The youngest child, he told himself. He was the youngest child, overlooked by his siblings’ achievements that came before he could even walk. He wasn’t the smartest in his class. He was a cargo pilot back on Earth, and couldn’t go any further than that despite wanting to. He was just...

Something reached out to him, a cool wash against him. A light current. Kiyal never saw anything past his waters, it said. He’d need a mentor.

Shiro could do that, he argued. He wasn’t needed.

Shiro couldn’t teach him to fly Red, the current whispered back. Only he had flown Red before. He was needed to bring Voltron to its full potential.

He wasn’t needed to fly, Lance thought in despair. Once Kiyal knew how to fly, he wasn’t needed.

How do you know? the current whispered, laughing lightly.

Lance turned, dropping the washcloth. What was that current? Why was it telling him these things? Why was it... comforting, familiar... _his_?

Someone knocked on the door, and the current faded as Lance went to open it. When it slid open, Shiro stood there, concerned. “Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

”Huh? Yeah. This scratch is nothing.”

”I didn’t meant the scratch,” Shiro said gently. “Though I’d like to get some antibiotics on it. You were fighting with Kiyal. What was going on there?”

Lance looked away. “It’s nothing, Shiro. Just... some stupid words.”

”Hey.” Shiro’s hand clasped his shoulder. “You don’t need to hold back here. What’s going on? What happened between you and Kiyal?”

”Red responded to Kiyal.”

The words were spoken quietly, and Lance wasn’t sure that Shiro heard them. But when Shiro took a deep breath, closing his eyes, he knew he had heard them. “Kiyal barely knows how to walk,” he reminded him. “He doesn’t know anything about this war, and definitely nothing about how to fly a Lion. He doesn’t even know what he is. You’re still the Red Paladin, Lance. Why Red responded to Kiyal... I don’t know. But you’re not going to be stripped of your status. I swear it.”

”But what happens if Red won’t let me fly her?” Lance asked quietly. “What happens if she only wants Kiyal?”

”You won’t be stripped of your status no matter what,” Shiro told him firmly. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Lance looked away. Shiro couldn’t guarantee that. “Yeah,” he whispered. “I guess.”

When he looked back at Shiro, he was smiling at Lance. “It’ll be okay,” Shiro said, trying to encourage him. “You’ll see.”

He felt the current against his skin again, echoing Shiro’s words as he left.

  


* * *

  


Blue just... stood there. Quiet. Lance reached out, touching a metal paw. “Why did you reject me when we got to space, girl?” he asked quietly. “Why did you choose Allura instead? Why... why is Red choosing Kiyal instead of me? Why am I being left behind?”

Blue didn’t answer. He didn’t expect her to.

But Lance didn’t feel like leaving. Instead, he got up on her paw, sitting where the paw met leg. It felt... comfortable there. He closed his eyes, leaning up against her leg, feeling the cool metal against his back. It was nice.

”You know, even if I’m not your pilot, I still love you,” he whispered. “You gave me a purpose. I just... feel like that’s about to be pulled away from me. I don’t know what to do.” He chuckled suddenly, his eyes wet for no reason as he rubbed his face. “I don’t know what to do,” he repeated quietly, looking up at her head.

A purr filled the air, and Lance jumped a little before he realized... it was Blue, purring against him. He smiled sadly, leaning back against her. It was nice of her, but... he knew he wasn’t her pilot.

It didn’t mean he wasn’t going to take this comfort. It just meant... he knew how bittersweet it was. He wanted it to be true. He wanted it to mean that Blue had accepted him back, wanted him to be her pilot again. But that wasn’t to be. She had Allura. Why would she want a cargo pilot when she had a princess?

But for right now...

Lance closed his eyes, letting the purring soothe him and ease him into a light sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

”I don’t like clothes.”

”You don’t have to be on land,” Shiro told Kiyal gently. “If the water is more comfortable for you, you can go back to the water. The Blade of Marmora can meet you there.”

Kiyal shook his head. “No. I need to meet them. I need them to tell you that I’m not Galra. I-” He broke the words off. What he looked like didn’t mean anything. He wasn’t Galra. But the idea of meeting Galra that weren’t evil, that wanted to help them... he wanted to meet them. He wanted to know there were some out there that wanted something good.

But instead of saying that, he looked down at the bottom. At the... “What is this?” he asked, motioning to it. “I mean... you said land, but I don’t know what land is. And earlier you said land and air, and I don’t know what you meant by that.”

Shiro took a deep breath, a thoughtful look on his face. “Land is the solid surface you’re on,” he explained. “Air is... well..” He waved his hand. “The invisible stuff we’re breathing. And this-” He tapped the surface they were on with a part of his food. “This is a floor. These-” He motioned to the rocks standing next to them. “Are floors and what’s above us is a ceiling.”

”Too many words,” Kiyal grumbled.

That made Shiro laugh. “You’re not wrong.”

Kiyal smiled a little at Shiro. He had been spending so much time trying to help him. He was nice. But this whole thing... He just wanted to go home. To not be part of this anymore. But at the same time, he wanted to make the Galra pay for what they did. He didn’t have a chance to kill the one that had captured him.

His father used to talk about the Galra all the time. What they were doing. What they looked like... but he never told Kiyal he looked like them. And his father didn’t look like them, so why would Kiyal think he looked like them? His father was shades of green and gold, with brilliant blue eyes. He didn’t look anything like the Galra he told him about, nor like the ones that captured him. And Kiyal still didn’t know what he looked like other than he had Galra eyes and purple skin... was that enough?

”Shiro?” Kiyal lifted his chin. “How can I look at myself?”

That took Shiro aback. “What do you mean?”

”I don’t know what I look like. I don’t know why people keep calling me Galra. So how can I change that?”

Shiro frowned. “Well... we should have a mirror around here. I know the bathrooms do, since I shave every day. Are you sure you want to do this? You can’t forget what you’ve seen if you do.”

”I can’t forget being told I look Galra,” Kiyal shot back. “So... I should just know.”

Shiro sighed. “I can’t argue with that. Come on.” He started moving, and Kiyal stumbled after him, still unsteady on his feet. He could tell Shiro was trying to move slowly for him, but he still ended up far ahead, and had to stop and wait for Kiyal to catch up. But he didn’t say anything, and continued moving when Kiyal made it.

”What is this movement?” Kiyal asked, distracted by trying to keep up.

”Hm? Walking?”

”Walking...” Okay. He was walking. Not easily, but he was walking.

They walked to a... “What is this?”

”A door.”

They walked to a door, which Shiro opened. “This is my room,” he told Kiyal gently. “I sleep in here, and I have a bathroom attached where I can shower and the such. There is a mirror in the bathroom-” he motioned to an opening in the wall “-where you can see yourself.”

Kiyal nodded. “Okay.” He started towards the bathroom, having to catch himself on the wall when he nearly fell. But he made it in, noticing several strange things he would ask Shiro about later. The mirror... he looked around, trying to figure out what it would be-

Movement.

Kiyal jumped, and saw someone else jump as well. He looked over at that person, and narrowed his eyes, seeing the other narrow their eyes as well. Their... yellow, Galra eyes...

Then they widened as Kiyal’s eyes widened.

Kiyal raised an arm, seeing the other arm raise as well, cut off at a certain point. He reached out, fingers meeting a slick surface. When he moved it towards where it had cut off, it ran off the slick surface onto the rock that was the wall.

Swallowing, Kiyal tapped the slick surface, watching the other person tap.

He touched his head.

The other person touched their head.

Kiyal placed a hand over his mouth to keep from screaming, watching the other him do the same. Because the other him looked so _Galra._ It wasn’t just the yellow eyes. It was the shape. His face looked a little more like his dad’s- a little like the Paladins’, but- he looked _Galra._ And the claws on his hands only furthered that image.

He heard someone behind him, and a Shiro came in behind the other Kiyal. He felt Shiro touch his shoulder when the other Shiro touched the other Kiyal’s shoulder, and he turned, looking up at Shiro. “I...” he said helplessly, his voice breaking.

”We don’t hate you for this,” Shiro told him gently. “You were a victim of the Galra, like many others were, and you-”

”Why do I look Galra?” Kiyal demanded. “My dad didn’t look Galra. Why do I? _What is going on?_ ”

”Kiyal...”

”What’s going on...” he repeated, his voice trailing off helplessly. “Why did the Lion respond to me? Why does Lance hate me? Why do I look Galra? What... what’s going on? Why couldn’t I just stay in the water?”

”I don’t know, Kiyal,” Shiro said, gently clasping his shoulder. “But it’ll be okay. I promise.”

Kiyal closed his eyes.

He hoped so.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I'm going to get this up early!  
> Me: /listens to as much Selena as possible and goes over her life, career, and death instead of writing

On a normal day, meeting with the Blade of Marmora would have excited Lance. He liked Kolivan. Dude was cool. But this time, he looked over to see Kiyal standing unsteadily on paw-like feet, his cat tail swinging under him while they waited for the Blade of Marmora to board. And at that moment... he wished Kiyal was back in the water. Where he couldn’t pilot Red.

It was irrational. He knew that. All Kiyal wanted to do was go home anyway. He didn’t want to be on land. He wanted to be swimming back in his own waters. But... what would happen if Red would only let Kiyal fly her, like how Blue shut him out and only let Allura fly her? Would he even have a reason to be on the Castle anymore?

Lance closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Then he opened them as Kolivan and the other Blades approached, looking up at Kolivan’s face. He looked... exhausted. But this was probably the most overt action the Blade of Marmora had in a very long time. Voltron had aided them a lot, and they could do a lot more now.

Though, why was Kolivan so tired then?

But his heart sank when Kolivan blinked, his eyes zeroing in on Kiyal immediately. Before Shiro or Allura could say anything, he spoke up. “You did not tell me you had a Galra on your ship. Though, you do not appear to be full blooded, little one.”

Lance looked over at Kiyal, watching his face fill with horror, then his body bristle as if he wanted to reject Kolivan’s words. “I-” he started to say, then closed his mouth, his teeth gritting.

”Kiyal didn’t know he was Galra until recently,” Shiro said, placing a hand on Kiyal’s shoulder. Lance watched Kiyal tense, but not shrug Shiro’s hand off. “And we could use your help. The Castle’s database has updated quite a bit since its reactivation, but we still can’t find Kiyal’s home planet.”

”It may be safer for the young kitten to be in our care,” Kolivan told him, voice rumbling. “A Galra kitten by itself, especially a halfbreed, does not end well.”

”I’m not a kitten!” Kiyal told him, his voice nearly that inhuman screech Lance had heard before. Kolivan narrowed his eyes at the tone as Kiyal continued. “And I’m not Galra. Stop lying!”

Shiro tightened his hand on Kiyal’s shoulder. “Kiyal,” he told him sternly. “Calm down.”

Kiyal _screamed_ , and Lance’s knees hit the floor hard, his hands scrambling to cover his ears. That scream. It was full of rage, of fear, of sorrow... of hatred. And it was a pitch he couldn’t take, a-

It suddenly cut off, and Lance looked up to see Allura grabbing Kiyal, her hand slapped over his mouth. “Do not do that,” she told him firmly, her voice cold.

”Princess.” Kolivan took a step forward. Lance could see he had been deeply affected by the scream, his eyes not completely focusing yet, but he still tried to look down at Kiyal. “Little one,” he said gently. “We don’t mean to harm you. That is not our intent. If you return to your planet, the chances-”

”I’m not Galra,” Kiyal whispered, barely audible around Allura’s hand. “The Galra-” He cut off, closing his yellow Galra eyes. “But you’re not attacking me. You’re trying to help us all.”

”I am not trying to harm you in the least.”

Lance could see Kolivan was treating him like a... well, a scared feral kitten. Not touching him, but letting him know he was there. He would care. Good. If Kiyal went with the Blade of Marmora... if he trusted them and learned more about being a Galra and wasn’t around-

It was a horrible thought and he knew it.

Kiyal looked up at Kolivan, and Lance could see the Galra echoed in Kiyal, as well as the barely there scales still lining his skin. The mix of mermaid and Galra, standing in front of them. Of a halfbreed.

Kiyal opened his mouth.

And Red roared.

Lance closed his eyes, his heart squeezing.

Even the gentle current against his thoughts couldn’t soothe him.

  


* * *

  


”What was that?” Kiyal looked around, eyes wide. Had... one of the Lions roared? Heat lapped at his head, urgent. There was- he-

”Paladins!” Coran’s voice cut into his thoughts. “There is a Galra battleship coming towards us.”

”Think it’s under Lotor’s command?” Pidge asked, her voice dark.

”I wouldn’t doubt it,” Shiro said. “Everyone. Head for your Lions.”

”We will ready for battle as well,” Kolivan rumbled. Then, he looked at Kiyal. He hesitated for a moment, and Kiyal could see him torn on... something. “We will speak later,” he finally said, turning to leave.

Which is when Kiyal saw it.

The blade at his side.

With the same markings as his own.

”Your blade,” he said without thinking. “I have a knife with that same mark.”

The feeling around him suddenly... changed. Kolivan paused, and it felt like everyone was looking at him now. Slowly, Kolivan turned to Kiyal, his eyes narrow. “This is given to Blade of Marmora members. How do you have one?”

”I... it’s back at my lake at my home planet, but... my mom... left...” Kiyal trailed off, swallowing. “She couldn’t be a Blade of Marmora member. She-”

”Many of our numbers are lost every day. It’s not impossible one was lost to love.”

Kiyal tried to swim, trying to move in the agitated way he was used to, and ended up falling over instead. He wasn’t in water, he reminded himself as he pushed himself up to what Shiro had said was “sitting”. He was on land. He had legs. Not a tail. Well, not a proper tail. And he- he couldn’t-

”We will talk later,” Kolivan promised. “Once we are done with this threat.”

Kiyal just sat there, his mind whirling.

That blade he had back at his lake. The one his mom had given him.

It was... Galra.

It was from the Blade of Marmora.

She could have been part of them.

She could have been Galra.

 _Kiyal_ was Galra.

He looked at his hands.

He was Galra.


	16. Chapter 16

Red armor.

Lance pressed his hand against his chest, against the red V. It felt... wrong. He knew he wasn’t the Red Paladin. Everything he had felt since Blue locking him out and Red roaring had told him that he was flying the wrong Lion. Red just... he _knew._ Red wasn’t his.

And now Red roared for Kiyal.

Kiyal had never flown anything before! Why would Red roar for someone that didn’t know how to fly? Why...

With a sigh, he put his helmet on, heading towards Red’s mouth.

”Blue...?”

Allura’s shocked and wounded voice came over the com link, making him turn slightly. “What’s up, Allura?”

”Blue, well... I can’t get Blue to respond to me.”

Lance’s feet turned to run towards Blue’s hangar before he realized what he was doing. He came to a skidding stop when he saw Allura sitting in Blue, her hands on the control sticks... and Blue not closing her mouth. Blue not responding to Allura at all. “What the...”

”I don’t- I don’t understand,” Allura said, her voice baffled and small as she exited Blue. “I- I didn’t think I had insulted the Blue Lion in any way, or had proven myself incapable...”

Lance swallowed. Blue was rejecting Allura too... were they not good enough to be pilots? Were they both just stand-ins? He opened his mouth to say something when the ship rocked under him, a hit from the incoming fighters. What could they do? They needed all the Lions out there right now, and Blue wasn’t letting Allura fly her. Lance could try, but he knew Blue would just shut him out too.

A current lapped at his mind, whispering words.

”Are there defenses on the Castle you can use?” he said slowly, thinking. “Like, attacking lasers and the such?”

”Well... yes,” Allura said, obviously trying to follow where he was going with this.

”Could you use them? I mean, I know you can activate portals and Coran can’t, but can only you activate the defenses?”

Allura blinked. “I... suppose. But they will only be so much of a help. I _need_ to be out there, Lance. I cannot stand aside while the rest of the Paladins put themselves in danger-”

”Hey. Allura.” Lance put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re probably put yourself in more danger than all of us. You saved the Balmera, right? And then, even though you were exhausted, you got right back into Blue. I mean, you could have _died_ doing that. That was way more danger than the rest of us were putting ourselves into. And when Zarkon was after us, you kept opening wormholes, and you would still need to pilot Blue after if we needed Voltron. You’ve done way more than the rest of us. You could step down as a pilot and still be risking your life way more to save this universe than any of us.”

”It just doesn’t feel right,” Allura told him, looking away. “My father was a pilot. It doesn’t feel right to not follow in his footsteps.”

”Which Lion did he pilot?”

”Well... the Red one...”

”See?” Lance smiled. “I’m more following in his footsteps than you are since I’m piloting Red!”

Allura shot him a sour look. Then she sighed. “I do understand what you are trying to say, Lance. I-”

Lance shook his head. “Don’t, Allura. We’re going to need you fighting in some way. Even if you’re not in a Lion and providing support from the Castle, that’s still fighting. And hey, Blue might just be sick or something! You’ll be back to piloting her in no time.”

Allura nodded, taking a deep breath. “I suppose you are right. You should return to the Red Lion,” she told him, her face softening slightly. “We shouldn’t be down two Lions for this fight.”

Lance squeezed her shoulder, then let her go. He stood there for a moment as Allura left, looking up at Blue. She had rejected both of her pilots. Lance looked down at her paw, something large and horrible welling up inside of him. Both he and Allura weren’t good enough. Both of them were just temporary. Well, at least he had something in common with a princess. Unlike Allura, though... he wasn’t anything else. He wasn’t a prince. He wasn’t anything but... Lance.

You’re not temporary, the current said, soothing.

Then Blue roared.

  


* * *

  


Kiyal looked up at the Red Lion.

Everyone else was fighting. Killing Galra. Evil Galra, he reminded himself. The Blade of Marmora were good, apparently. And he... he wasn’t doing anything.

He was just standing there, looking up at a metal beast.

Kiyal reached out, pressing a hand to the Red Lion’s paw. It was cold. He didn’t expect that.

Heat lapped at his mind.

And the Red Lion roared, lowering its head.

Kiyal stared. He didn’t understand what was happening. What he was seeing. Shiro would know, but he was out there, fighting with the Black Lion. He wasn’t-

Trust me, the heat said. Trust me.

Slowly, Kiyal walked in. That... was a chair, right? That was the right word? He sat down carefully, waiting.

And the world around him lit up.

And Red roared in triumph.


	17. Chapter 17

They weren’t going to need Voltron for this. Lance scanned the battlefield, taking it in as he flew in, hands on Blue’s (Blue’s!) control sticks. They might need another Lion on the field, but maybe not even that with Allura at the helm of the defenses. She was doing a great job already. Lance felt proud of her. She had been an amazing pilot for Blue and now she was helming the Castle just as amazingly. The thought that he was just holding Allura’s place, that Blue knew she would be needed helming the Castle’s defenses and just _allowed_ Lance to pilot her until Allura was done flitted through his mind-

No, the current whispered.

But he put it aside to continue fighting. Galra first. He could have a crisis later.

But God, Blue moved under his hands like they were meant to be. His heart swelled as they moved together, whipping her through space to blast fighters like it was nothing. He had seen Allura do the same once she and Blue had bonded, and now it was his turn.

”The battleship is retreating,” Pidge noted, sounding confused.

”Maybe we had been stretching their resources thin and they bit off more than they could chew when attacking us?” Hunk asked, hopeful.

”I don’t know,” Shiro said, his voice stern. “But we don’t have the Red Lion right now.”

And that just made Lance feel like shit. He had Blue back... but that meant he wasn’t flying Red. And Kiyal couldn’t fly Red, even if she roared for him. He didn’t know what he was doing. It would have been better if Allura had stayed with Blue and he was in Red just so they could see what was going on.

But right now, they just had to see the battleship retreat for no reason and-

Red flew past them, almost hitting Yellow as she went. “Kiyal?!” Lance gasped, watching Red fly. Yes, the Lions were intuitive once a person got in them - that’s how Hunk and Pidge figured it out - but Hunk and Pidge had seen the inside of a spacecraft before they got their Lions! How did Kiyal figure it out?

Was... was Kiyal just a natural? More proof that Lance should have never flown Red?

”We need to figure out what’s going on with this thing, right?” Kiyal said, his voice distant and tinny. Did he have a helmet on? Oh geez. Probably not. Lance had the Red Paladin armor on. Geez. That wasn’t good.

”Kiyal?!” Hunk and Pidge’s voices rose at the same time, the same note of worry and surprise laced through the word.

”We’re not ready,” Shiro told him firmly. “You’re not ready.”

”Red’s teaching me! We can do this!”

”We can’t form Voltron like this. We’re not going after them.”

Kiyal went quiet for a moment, then Red turned around awkwardly, coming back to the group. “The Galra need to pay,” Kiyal said quietly, and Lance imagined seeing his hands, purple and scaled, claws digging into his palms as they tightened on the control sticks. “They attacked me. Kidnapped me. Put me into captivity. And I’m not the only one they did it to. They need to pay.”

”We’ll make them pay,” Lance told him quietly, assuring him.

”Then let’s do it now!”

”Do you know how to make your Lion attack?” Allura asked, her voice crackling over the com link.

”I-”

”Are you aware of the combat function of the Red Lion while fused as Voltron?”

”Well-”

”Are you able to fly under stressful circumstances and not just while the enemy is retreating?”

”I’m _learning_ , okay? And how better to learn than to do it?!”

”Kiyal.” Lance’s voice came out quiet, gentle. “Let’s go back. The Galra are everywhere. We’ll have another chance. And we took out a lot of their fighters. They’ll be hurting for a while.”

Kiyal didn’t answer for a while, then Lance heard him sigh. “Okay.”

And as Lance flew back to the Castle, he felt his heart sink more. Red was helping Kiyal fly. Lance was never meant to fly Red. And now... he had a feeling he would be pushed out of Blue.

The current sighed, exasperated. _You_ are my pilot, it said. _Allura_ is my pilot. And you are _Red’s_ pilot. How is this hard?

Lance’s eyes grew wide. “Uh...”

”Lance? Is something wrong?”

Kiyal had said he felt heat. Heard purring. Had he been hearing Red? Like Lance was... was hearing _Blue_ right now?

But that would mean that... he was both the Blue and Red Paladin? And Allura was the Blue Paladin too? And Kiyal was the Red Paladin?

Now you got it, the current chuckled.

Lance looked up, seeing Red fly next to him. A pang of jealousy ran through him - Red had been _his_ Lion for a while, after all - but at the same time, he felt... happy. He was in Blue. He was in a Lion that responded to him in a way that made sense. Like they were made to be. And now Red had the Paladin that would fly her right too.

But now Blue just had to kick Lance out any time she wanted. She had two Blue Paladins. And if she kicked Lance out, and Red stayed with Kiyal, teaching him...

Lance’s hands tightened.

He could be useless.

Allura was the better Blue Paladin. If they didn’t need the Castle’s defenses, Blue would choose her. Lance was useless.

Lance was useless now.


	18. Chapter 18

They didn’t trust him. Kiyal grit his teeth as Red helped him back to the Castle, giving him an impression how to land. When he tried, she ended up in a heap, and Kiyal didn’t know how to pull her back into her dignified position. It crawled on his back, making him growl. Red wanted him to fly. And here he was, unable to do so without help and untrusted by the rest of the group.

He knew Red had been calling out to him ever since he had been captured. Perhaps even longer - he had felt something outside his waters occasionally. But this...

He heard the others talking, their voices crackling through the air. Where it was coming from, Kiyal didn’t know. More things he didn’t know. Maybe he should just go back to his waters. He knew those. All of this... he didn’t know this.

But if he went back, he would be giving up the fight. Kiyal glared at Red as the others stopped talking. He wasn’t going to give up the fight. They were going to pay. He was going to make sure of it.

”Kiyal?” Shiro’s voice came from outside Red. When Red opened, he saw Shiro standing there, his face worried. “Is everything okay?”

Without answering, Kiyal stood, walking out of Red and past Shiro. He wished he could walk in a way that his frustration and anger came across, but all he could do was put all his attention into not falling on his face. Another thing he couldn’t do right. Walk. He wasn’t meant to be on land. He was a water being.

But even that wasn’t true. He was Galra. He had seen it when he looked in that mirror thing. The Blade of Marmora confirmed it. He was Galra. They were land beings. He belonged on land too.

Everything swam in his head, making him want to scream. Nothing made sense anymore. He didn’t know anything. How to walk, what he was, how to fly, what it meant for Red to do all this for him- he didn’t _know_. He didn’t understand.

A hand stopped him, and Kiyal whipped around, almost clawing Shiro’s face before losing his balance and landing on the floor. Frustration built in Kiyal as he laid there, looking up at Shiro. He couldn’t even attack properly. He just kept falling flat, unable to be on his legs. “What,” he growled, glaring up at Shiro.

Instead of trying to help him up, Shiro bent down next to him. “Is everything okay, Kiyal?” he asked gently, making Kiyal laugh.

”I just got into a Lion of Voltron thinking I could join the fight against the Galra with you, told I couldn’t because I wasn’t good enough, and _nothing makes sense._ ” Kiyal felt his chest burning, as if he couldn’t breathe, but he didn’t know how to. His chest was rising and falling faster, but... he didn’t know his own body anymore. He didn’t know what was going on at all! Kiyal curled up a little, trying to focus on his own body. Just trying... just trying to understand what he felt. What his chest was doing. What “breathing” was now, and why he felt like he couldn’t do it. Why he was shaking and couldn’t move and why it was cold and-

Shiro’s warm organic hand clasped his shoulder, and he cried out, knocking it away. Kiyal looked up at him, seeing the worry and shock in his face-

And Kiyal gripped his hair, his own long white locks fisted in purple clawed fingers, and _screamed_.

  


* * *

  


”What’s this called?” Kiyal asked dully as Shiro pressed something into his hands.

”This is a mug,” Shiro told him gently. “It’s filled with a liquid. The liquid is... well, it’s the closest thing we’re getting to hot chocolate out here. On Earth, it’s a comfort drink.”

Kiyal stared at the mug and the liquid inside. “It’s hot.”

”That’s why we called it hot chocolate,” Shiro chuckled. “Be careful drinking it. It can burn your mouth.”

”Hm.” Kiyal took a careful drink, feeling the heat of the liquid all the way down. Heat... like Red. The taste was strange - a bit sweet - but it wasn’t terrible. He took another careful drink, enjoying the heat.

Shiro just watched him for a moment, his hands around the mug. Then, he took his own careful drink, his gaze dropping to his own mug as he set it down. “Hunk and Pidge didn’t know how to fly when they first started,” he finally said, his voice quiet.

Kiyal looked at him, surprised. They didn’t? But they flew their Lions so well.

”Only Lance and I had flown anything before,” he continued. “I had to give Hunk and Pidge tips on how to fly. And we all had to learn what our Lions could do. None of us knew what they were capable of at first. We’re still learning what they’re capable of.”

Kiyal looked at his mug. “Oh.”

”You had no frame of reference on how to fly anything. Hunk and Pidge at least had been trained on support. And yet you flew Red without running into anything. You flew in a straight line. You could turn around and follow us back. And while it wasn’t a perfect landing, Red was generally upright.”

Kiyal felt his mouth open slightly at the words. “What are you-”

”The Lions can help us only so far. The rest of that was you. You can fly. You’ll need practice, but you can do it. I can give you tips on how to fly better, and Lance can help you get accustomed to Red. But Kiyal...” Shiro smiled at him. “You’re a natural.”

The words brought on warmth in his chest, as if swallowing more hot chocolate, pride blooming at the words. He was a natural. He could fly. But-

”But if something really bad happens, or if you guys need me off my Lion, I’m not going to be out there,” Kiyal said softly. “Not until I learn. Not until I can attack something without falling down.”

”It’ll take time. Everything does. You didn’t swim the way you can now right away, did you?”

”Well... no...”

Shiro nodded, still smiling. “Everything’s going to be okay. And the Blade of Marmora are here to help you learn about your Galra heritage so you can understand that. It’ll be okay.”

Nothing made sense.

But... maybe they might make sense soon.

All Kiyal knew was he wanted to fly Red again, and soon.

He took another careful drink, enjoying the heat.


	19. Chapter 19

Lance... might have come around to the fact he was Blue’s pilot. And Kiyal was Red’s.

It helped a lot that Blue wasn’t rejecting him the same way as before. And he could help teach Kiyal how to fly Red. It rankled that Kiyal was such a natural at flying that even though he literally had never seen anything outside his own waters until recently, he flew Red better than Lance. But hey, that just meant Lance had someone he could match himself against! It wasn’t worth trying to become better than Shiro. He was just... on another level. But Kiyal? Oh yeah.

”I don’t understand why you’re so intent on proving you’re the better pilot,” Kiyal said, irritated as he exited Red. He was getting a lot better at walking, and Lance had watched him spar with Shiro a few times. It had been hilarious watching Kiyal fall on his ass, but then he just got... _better_. It wasn’t fair. “You have more experience than I do. Of course you’ll be better.”

”And you just keep getting better, so I have to prove the original Red Paladin is the best,” Lance told him, smiling. “You have to have someone to look up to, after all.”

Kiyal snorted. “If I want to look up to someone, it’ll be Shiro.”

”Okay, that’s not fair. Shiro’s like...” Lance waved his hands. “He’s so much better than all of us. We’re never going to reach that level.”

His words made Kiyal’s face tighten. “I will,” he vowed quietly. “After what the Galra did to me - to _us_ \- I’m going to kill all of them. Well.” He shook his head. “Not the Blade of Marmora. They’re...”

Lance watched Kiyal’s face, watched the play of emotions. Kiyal still didn’t know what to make of the Blade of Marmora. From what Lance could tell, he was avoiding them at all costs. “You’re going to have to learn what it means to be Galra eventually,” he told him gently. “I mean... it might come up later and we might need it. Or something might happen to you and we might need to know how to fix you. Just... talk to Kolivan, okay? Guy’s pretty rad. You’ll like him.”

Kiyal squinted at him. “Do you know your words make no sense?”

Oh. He must have used slang again that Kiyal didn’t get. Lance thought back on his words, then said, “Kolivan’s a good guy. You can trust him.”

Kiyal sighed. “Maybe I don’t want to trust him,” he said quietly. “He’s Galra. I don’t- I don’t know if he’s telling me the truth or...”

”Hey.” Lance didn’t reach out since the last time he had tried to comfort him with touch, Kiyal had swiped at him. It seemed like only Shiro had luck with that. “He’ll tell you the truth. It’ll be okay.”

”It’s not going to be okay, Lance,” Kiyal shot back, his words suddenly vicious. “It’ll never be okay. I’m a Paladin of Voltron now. I’m learning to live on the land, and I can’t go back to my waters because I’m supposed to be here. Flying the Red Lion. And now I’m Galra, the thing that captured me and put me in that tube-” He broke off, gritting his teeth visibly. “Things aren’t okay, Lance. Nothing is okay.”

Lance didn’t know what to say as Kiyal left, watching him almost stomp down the halls. He had gotten good enough that he could do that, Lance thought dully. He learned so much in such a short amount of time...

Lance closed his eyes.

He didn’t move until his bladder put on the red alert and he was forced to move.

  


* * *

  


It didn’t occur to Lance until that moment that Kiyal maybe _needed_ time back in water. But when Kiyal paled in the middle of training, his purple skin looking sickly, and he crashed to the floor, no one able to rouse him for several seconds, he started to get that feeling.

Shiro led Kiyal off, making Lance look away. They kept thinking of their Red Paladin like he was one of them. And he could pretend to be, for some reason. Maybe his species could be on land for a little bit, and his Galra genes made it happen for longer. Maybe it was only because he was Galra.

But he had a feeling Shiro would only take Kiyal back to his room, letting him rest. And that wasn’t right. Kiyal was a mermaid. He needed to be in the water.

So Lance followed them, racing to catch up. “Hey,” he called out as he got closer. “Kiyal, when was the last time you took a swim?”

Kiyal frowned at him. “Why?”

Lance shrugged. “Just thinking. I mean...”

Shiro opened his mouth, thoughtful, when an alarm started blaring. His face grew stern, looking down at Kiyal. “Do you feel like you can fly against the Galra?”

”Yeah.” Kiyal’s face was fierce. “I’m going to rip all of them-” But when he tried to take a step, his legs collapsed under him. He growled, snapping his fangs as he tried to get up, his long claws scraping across the floor.

”Kiyal, you need to rest,” Lance told him, bending down. “Look... I can try flying Red until you feel better, okay? I’m not as good as you, but I can get the job done. And Allura knows how to fly Blue. She’s almost as good as me.”

”I’m not useless in this war,” Kiyal growled at him. “You can’t just tell me I can be pushed aside whenever you want to. I’m going to fight the Galra. They need to be-”

When Kiyal tried to get up, and fell, Lance reached out, taking him by the shoulders. “You’re not useless,” he told him quietly. “You’re not feeling well. There’s a difference. And I think you should swim for a little bit. You haven’t done it in a long time.”

”Lance is right,” Shiro said, bending down as well. “We need you to be well, not to push yourself. Taking time off isn’t becoming useless. It’s making yourself stronger, because you know when to take a step back and not overexert yourself.”

Kiyal closed his eyes.

”I’m going to Red,” he finally said, his voice resolute.

Lance watched him get up, staggering off, and only felt heavy.

Kiyal was going to get himself killed doing this.


	20. Chapter 20

When Kiyal woke up, he was in water. He stretched, his tail flicking along the slow currents as his brain slowly remembered how he got there. He had been training... then an alarm had gone off. Red wouldn’t respond to him, and Lance had- and then he had fallen-

Kiyal scowled.

Lance hadn’t hurt him. He knew that for certain. No, he had just simply fallen unconscious. And Red wouldn’t respond to him at all.

Kiyal snarled, his tail lashing. What was the point of Red roaring for him at all if she wouldn’t respond to him when it was needed? He knew he wasn’t Lance yet. But he was rapidly becoming a better pilot. They all knew it. Red just- Kiyal started swimming for the surface before stopping, the thought hitting him.

Red didn’t trust him. It might not be as bad as the rest of them, seeing a Galra in the seat of one of their Lions, but she didn’t trust him yet.

No one trusted him.

Then why was he there?

Sound above him made Kiyal look up. Black hood... a Blade of Marmora? Slowly, he swam up, sticking his head out of the water just far enough so he could keep his gills under. “Yes?”

The Blade of Marmora pressed something on the mask, deactivating it, and pulled the hood down. Kolivan looked down at him, almost dispassionate. “You are not in your Lion.”

Kiyal nodded, tightly.

”Are you aware of why?”

”I’m not trusted,” Kiyal shot back sharply.

”You are still not ready.” Kolivan started to turn away. “You are not ready to be a Paladin of Voltron. You are unsteady on your feet, and you cannot take orders. I have watched you attempt to form Voltron.”

Kiyal grit his teeth.

Kolivan turned to look down at him one last time. “And you are unwilling to take care of yourself. You were told to swim. You are not a land animal. And yet you forced yourself on land until you passed out. You have a lot to learn before you can truly be a Paladin of Voltron. Your Lion only protected you. It seems... a thing the Paladins of Voltron do.”

Kiyal narrowed his eyes, lowering his head a little so his nose touched the water.

”The Blade of Marmora will be leaving today.” Kolivan started off, his feet slapping against the floor before Kiyal hauled himself out of the water. When Kiyal was done transforming back to his land form, he looked up to see Kolivan paused by the... door? No, elevator. That was the right word. “You have not recovered enough to be out of the water,” Kolivan told him sternly.

”I don’t have the luxury,” Kiyal shot back. “This is a war. We need to fight the Galra.”

Kolivan tilted his head in acknowledgement.

”You’re right.” Kiyal started to stand, legs shaking slightly. “I’m unsteady on my feet. Shiro pins me every single time. But you can beat Shiro half the time.”

”I do not have the time to train a rebellious kitten.”

”I don’t have time to be tossed aside because I’m not coming along as fast as they want me to.”

Kolivan tilted his head in acknowledgement again.

”Please.” Kiyal watched Kolivan’s face, hoping to see anything. Anything that would tell him he wouldn’t be tossed aside yet again.

”If you were a warrior with one of our blades, I would offer a place with us,” Kolivan told him. “But you are not. You will remain here, Paladin.”

Kiyal snarled. Pushed aside yet again. He should have known a Galra wouldn’t help him at all. He should have known that-

Kolivan walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Walk before you run,” he rumbled. “Or offer to throw yourself into a war to be killed.” With those words, he turned and left Kiyal alone to think on the words.

Slowly, Kiyal slid back into the water, and after the pain of transforming, he swam for the bottom, still thinking.

  


* * *

  


Take orders.

Form Voltron.

Kiyal looked at Red. They were just practicing this time. No Galra to fight now. It was just a practice flight. But after how Red would not- he looked away. No. He wouldn’t think like that. Slowly, he got in, watching Red light up. “Kiyal checking in,” he said as soon as he knew he could communicate with the others.

”Good.” That wasn’t Lance. But that came from Blue. Kiyal looked up, confused. Allura? He did know she was the Blue Paladin, but every time they had practiced, Lance had flown Blue. Why Allura now? “I’m going to fly with you this time,” she explained. “I need to stay in fighting shape as well, and we must all be used to fighting next to all of us.”

”Allura’s right,” Shiro said. “We’re going to start small. Are you ready, Kiyal?”

He didn’t want to fly with Allura. She didn’t like him. But... take orders. Form Voltron. “Yeah. I’m ready.”

Red purred under him, flames lapping at his head. Everything would be okay, she seemed to be saying. Trust. Trust Allura. Trust Shiro. Trust them all.

He wished he could. He wished he could trust them.

He wished he could fight next to them.

But he really wasn’t the Red Paladin. Lance had more experience than him. Kiyal was still learning to walk. Lance was running. Lance could form Voltron with Allura, he thought as he failed, gritting his teeth. He was just... a fish.

He should go back to his planet, get his knife, and join the Blade of Marmora. At least he could do something instead of... instead of being told he was something important. He would just be a fish in the school, but he’d be something. He’d be something instead of... this.

But that wouldn’t be possible, Kiyal told himself. Kolivan said it himself. He didn’t have time to train him. He was just...

Kiyal screamed, the noise echoing in Red.

And all the other Lions started falling.

”Guys?” Kiyal watched them right themselves, his heart pounding. “Guys, what happened?”

”Y-your scream,” Shiro said, his voice shaky. “It-”

Kiyal felt himself go cold.

He had hurt his friends. Just because he was frustrated.

He needed to leave.


	21. Chapter 21

The room still spun slightly. Lance closed his eyes, the pillow soft against his head as he laid in bed, hoping that would stop it, only for that to make it worse.

Kiyal’s scream was a weapon. He knew that from when he fought the Galra commander that held him prisoner. Hearing it echo in the cockpit of Blue, rattling around and almost amplified... they could use that against the Galra, Lance thought dizzily. They could have Kiyal scream at them and send them off balance. It’d be neat.

They’d have to find some way of dampening the effects for themselves, though. Lance tried to sit up and had to lay back down. He wasn’t getting back up anytime soon, apparently. Groaning, Lance threw an arm over his eyes. Just a few more minutes. He’d be okay. Just a few more...

Maybe they could get Pidge to figure something out? Or Hunk? They seem like they would be the ones to figure it out. Make it so the frequencies that Kiyal used when he screamed were like... maybe blocked out? Would that be possible? Maybe they were already working on that. Or maybe even working on a way so all of them could use it. Kiyal couldn’t be everywhere, after all. Lance slowly sat back up, sighing in relief when he managed it.

Shiro was probably still talking to Kiyal. Fish dude looked pretty shattered when he exited Red. Lance rubbed his head, groaning. It wasn’t really his fault. He just needed some help. He had been isolated from the world for so long. They all could help him, and Shiro was just really good at being the first person to help someone. He had his own problems - Lance found him making rounds through the Castle more than once, and when he pressed, Shiro said sheepishly that he couldn’t sleep unless he did exactly three, in a specific order, and even then sleep was iffy. Nightmares. And they all knew about his flashbacks and the occasional hallucination - but Shiro was like the kindest person ever. If Lance spoke to him for five seconds about trivial stuff, he suddenly wanted to spill everything that happened to him. Shiro was just _nice._ Kiyal would see that.

But Lance still wanted to talk to Kiyal. He just... needed Kiyal to know everything was okay. He was okay. Yeah, it hurt, but... he had an idea. The scream could be useful. And they could find a way to make it so it didn’t hurt them. He needed to let Kiyal know everything would be okay.

Yeah.

Lance started his way out of his room and down the halls. On his way, he ran into Shiro, and he started to smile. “Hey, Shiro! How’s Kiyal doing?”

”He seems pretty shaken up that his scream hurt us like that,” Shiro told him, smiling slightly. “But I spoke with him. He seems he understands we aren’t holding it against him.”

Lance smiled a little, relieved. “Cool. Think I can go talk to him too? I just... think it’d be cool for me to talk to him too.”

Shiro tilted his head. “I don’t see why not. We don’t know how old Kiyal is, but from what I can tell, you’d be around his age group. It might do him some good to talk to someone from his own age group after that.”

”So what happens if it turns out he’s like three hundred years old?” Lance asked, mischievous, ducking a little when Shiro turned an unamused look on him.

”You know what I mean. You’re both in that time of young adulthood. And-” Shiro looked away, touching his prosthetic arm. “I’m able to reach out to him a little because we were both captives. We both understand what it’s like to be at the whim of the Galra. But he’s still young. And you can relate to him better in that regard.”

”Is he- does he also have-” Lance asked, his voice quiet.

”PTSD? Probably. Or not. I don’t know how it presents in his species, if it does at all. I don’t know the psychology of their people.”

Lance fell quiet. He hadn’t thought that maybe Kiyal’s actions might be related to a mermaid version of PTSD. They hadn’t thought about possible PTSD in Kiyal at all, even before they knew he was the Red Paladin. They just... wanted to get him somewhere safe and didn’t think about any psychological damage that had been done. He looked up at Shiro, seeing the way his face shut down as he realized it too.

”How can we help him?” Lance asked, his voice small. He felt... horrible. How could he have not thought of it? Just... brushed it aside? That was traumatic! And they basically expected him to just become a Paladin and not acknowledge it... no, he was going to help Kiyal. He was going to do it and he was going to drag everyone else into it.

Shiro shrugged. “I’m not a psychiatrist,” he said apologetically. “I mean... I guess be there for him? Listen when he wants to talk? It helps me. And if he does have flashbacks, let him know he’s safe. I wish I knew how to treat PTSD but I don’t. And even if I did, I don’t know how to treat it in his species. But... we can do what we can. That’s all we can ask for.”

Lance nodded, exhaling. That was all they could ask for.

Shiro clasped his shoulder. “It’ll be okay,” he told him, smiling a little. “Now, go talk to Kiyal. He’s in his pool. See if you can make him laugh. Laughter always helps.”

”Mm.” Lance nodded, and started down the hall as Shiro’s hand fell away. Help Kiyal. He could do that.

Mother of God. How could he have done this to Kiyal? How could he have just forgotten Kiyal had been a prisoner? He was a bad Paladin. Bad.

When he got to Kiyal’s pool, though...

”Kiyal...?” Lance leaned over the edge, looking down into the water.

He almost wished the water wasn’t as clean as it was. Had obstructions. Some way so he could say that Kiyal was hiding.

Because Kiyal wasn’t in the pool.


	22. Chapter 22

He’d have to leave Red behind. No use leaving them without a Lion. And it wasn’t like he was leaving them without a Paladin to fly her. Lance had flown her longer than he did. Kiyal grabbed a few more fish, setting them on the floor in front of him in the kitchen. What else... water? He picked up armfuls of the water packets, setting them down on the floor as well. Carrying all of this was going to be a pain. He frowned at the piles in front of him, thinking. How was he going to do this?

Kiyal’s head snapped up as someone entered. When his eyes met Hunk’s, he looked away, ashamed. He had hurt Hunk. Someone who had been nothing but nice to him. How could he have done such a thing? Shiro had told him it wasn’t his fault, and no one was angry at him, but... it was his fault. If he hadn’t screamed, this wouldn’t have happened.

”Hey, Kiyal,” Hunk said, his voice conversational. “You hungry? Let me set you up with some plates and napkins. Or I can help you back to your pool with this. You need an extra pair of hands, buddy?”

Kiyal grit his teeth, his claws flexing. “I don’t need help,” he growled.

”Oh. Okay.” Hunk went to the food, pulling out some for himself and starting to...

”What are you doing?” Curiosity of human behavior won out temporarily, making him go over to Hunk. He didn’t know what this was.

”Huh?” Hunk turned to him slightly. “I’m cooking. Well, baking. I just thought of a recipe I want to try and I wanted to see if the Castle had the ingredients to make it. I don’t really think we do, though.” Hunk tilted his head, and Kiyal watched him think. “Maybe I could cook your fish! Have you ever had cooked fish?”

Kiyal narrowed his eyes. “I don’t need my fish cooked.”

That made Hunk deflate a little. “Oh.”

And now Kiyal felt bad. He didn’t like seeing Hunk look that way. Hunk was nice. “Fine. You can cook the fish.” He’d eat some cooked fish and then he’d go. Far away. Hunk might even help him. He was nice like that.

Hunk’s face brightened and he picked up a fish, doing... things to it. Kiyal understood some of it, but... what was he putting on it? He scrunched up his nose as he watched Hunk, smelling things he didn’t like. But... when he looked up at Hunk, he looked happy. And that...

Made him feel worse. If he wasn’t here, Hunk-

”Hey.” Hunk leaned down, face almost touching his. Reflexively, Kiyal hissed, hand up to swipe before realizing it was only Hunk. And felt horrible as Hunk flinched back, fear in his eyes. “Oh wow,” Hunk said breathily. “Sorry. I just wanted you to taste something.”

”Don’t- do that,” Kiyal told him, lowering his hand. “And what do you mean, taste something?”

”Well, I don’t know what tastes good to you. So I want you to taste what I’ve done so far and tell me if it needs anything! More salt, that kind of thing.”

”I don’t know what cooking is, or any of what you’re saying,” Kiyal pointed out. “So how would this help?”

Hunk frowned. “It’d help because it’d tell me if I should bother cooking this or if it tastes bad to you and I should throw it away. And you eat raw fish anyway so you eating a little raw seasoned fish should be okay.”

Kiyal sighed. “Fine.” He stepped forward, taking a small shred of meat and stuck it in his mouth.

And immediately spat it out. It didn’t taste right. It tasted so wrong. So, so wrong. He scrambled for a water packet, trying to rinse the taste out of his mouth.

”Geez, Kiyal, you didn’t need to be so dramatic about it.” Hunk crossed his arms, tilting his head in thought. “So what didn’t you like about it?”

”All of it,” he responded immediately. “None of it was good. Just- let me have fish how it is.”

Hunk sighed. “I just... kind of want to cook for you,” he said, his voice quiet. “You were really upset when we were training. So I wanted to try to do something for you to make you feel better. Something special. I know when I’m feeling bad, a good meal helps me.”

”Well, I’m not you. I’m not any of you humans! I’m not like you at all!”

”I know.” Hunk’s simple words made Kiyal pause. “Look...” He sighed. “Kiyal, you keep pulling away from us when we think we’re getting to know you. And...” He looked at the fish and water then back at Kiyal, his face pleading. “It looks like you’re getting ready for something. I don’t know if it’s to stay in the pool or...” Hunk looked away. “If you leave, we’re going to be really unhappy, you know?” He looked back at Kiyal. “I mean, I want you to be happy. But I don’t think we’ve tried all we can to help you and make you happy.”

”You can’t _make_ me happy,” Kiyal told him, his voice starting to crack. “You can’t- “ He grit his teeth. “I have to make the Galra pay,” he told Hunk, his voice tight. “But I can’t be here and hurt all of you while I do it.”

”Yeah, but... who’s going to help you if you leave?”

Kiyal blinked. What kind of question-

”I mean... you’re hurt now. Who’s going to help you heal?”

”I’m _not_ hurt!” Kiyal said, his voice raised. “I-”

Hunk just watched him, his face sad. Kiyal felt his chest rising and falling harder and harder, unable to stop it. He didn’t know what he was talking about. He didn’t have a body that changed into something he wasn’t used to- he didn’t look into a mirror and see the enemy- he didn’t- he-

Kiyal jumped as Hunk pulled him into a hug. “It’s okay,” Hunk told him. “Cry it out.”

”I don’t know what that means,” Kiyal snapped at him, but he gripped Hunk’s shirt, his breath harsh and fast in his throat. Hunk didn’t understand anything. He didn’t get it. He-

_He hadn’t been in that tube._

Kiyal pressed his face into Hunk’s chest and _screamed_.

  


* * *

  


”Huh.” Hunk touched his shirt. “I don’t think you cry.”

Kiyal just looked at his own hands as he sat at the table, numb. His tail hung off the seat, swinging against his leg. He felt... drained. Not there. He didn’t even look up when Hunk sat next to him.

”It’s okay,” Hunk told him. “You’ve been through a lot. And you’re still going through a lot. But we’re here. We’ll be here for you, if you let us.”

”Can I just rest for a little bit?” Kiyal asked, his voice hoarse. He didn’t want to think about any of that right now. Just... he didn’t want to think.

”Yeah, of course.” Hunk got up, then paused, turning to him. “Do you feel a little better now?”

It didn’t register right away, but Kiyal blinked, thinking. Then- “I guess.”

”Good,” Hunk said, his voice slightly smug. “Now rest. You want this fish in your pool or can I put it away?”

”Whatever you want,” Kiyal muttered, putting his head down and closing his eyes.

He fell asleep to the sound of Hunk putting his supplies away.


	23. Chapter 23

Any time Red let Kiyal fly her over Lance it... kind of hurt. It hurt more when Allura flew Blue. But... Lance started to understand more and more why it happened when it did. When Allura flew Blue and Kiyal flew Red, it was when Kiyal needed Allura and her support. And Kiyal was starting to get good at being a Red Paladin, strong and instinctual. On the other hand, when Lance was flying Red, he was more supportive, a eye on Shiro’s back. And when he flew Blue... he held Kiyal up. Helped him learn to be the best Red Paladin he could be.

It was really strange, but he could start to understand why the Lions did what they did. They had even managed to form Voltron during battles, though all of them could feel Kiyal’s hesitation while they did so.

Which is why Lance was in the pool with Kiyal, laughing as the mermaid swam around him. He should probably be in his Paladin armor so he could be under the water with him and talk, but damn it, he hadn’t gone _swimming_ in forever. Swim trunk it was. Allura was laying on a towel on the edge of the pool, talking to Shiro about something, the two of them in swimwear as well. Pidge was as far away from the water as she could be, in her regular clothes as she typed on her laptop. Not comfortable in as swimsuit, she claimed. And Hunk...

”CANNONBALL!”

Kiyal swam away from Hunk quickly as he cannonballed into the pool. Shiro and Allura made shocked noises as the resulting splash hit them, then they laughed, Allura sitting up to wring out her hair. Pidge just snapped out a quick “don’t splash my laptop” as Hunk’s head breached the surface again.

”What was that?” Kiyal asked, his head just barely out of the water.

”A cannonball,” Lance explained. “It’s when you jump into a pool like this.” He tucked his knees to his chest, holding them.

Kiyal snorted. “Well, you almost hit me with that,” he told Hunk, but there was still amusement in his voice.

”Hey, we should play some pool games,” Lance said, looking at the three of them. Then, the looked over at Shiro and Allura. “Come on! I mean, we can’t do any swimming races or anything because Kiyal and I would smoke all of you.” He saw Kiyal’s confused look, and he explained “we’d win, easily.”

Kiyal laughed. “You mean _I’d_ win.”

”Hey, I grew up swimming. Don’t count me out.” But Lance was still smiling. He could see everyone relaxing at Kiyal’s laugh. It was heartening to see him relax.

”Maybe we should test this,” Kiyal shot back, and Lance swore he could hear a teasing tone to his voice. Wonder of wonders. “I challenge you to a race.”

Lance opened his mouth to accept when the alarm went off. They all groaned, and Lance and Hunk swam to the side of the pool to pull themselves out. “You need some help getting out, Kiyal?” Lance asked once his feet were on the floor, turning to the pool.

Kiyal held out his hand, and Lance helped pull him out of the pool. It never stopped being worrying as Kiyal’s body transformed from a sea to land body and the pain it caused him. But once Kiyal was done, he pulled on a pair of shorts he left there for modesty and followed them to the Star Room.

And it was an SOS asking for help against the Galra because why wouldn’t it be?

Lance turned to Kiyal. Did he want to fly Red this time? Was Red going to let him fly her this time? Was... what was it going to be?

”They want ground support. Some of the Galra are in their underground caves.” Kiyal turned to Lance. “I’m still no good in a hand-to-hand fight. This is all you.”

Lance nodded. There had really been only one time Kiyal had been the better choice, and that was when the world had been mostly flooded. And boy, had Kiyal been the better choice. He was a scary fighter when he needed to be. “Cool. And when I get back, we’re going to finish our race. I’m so going to beat you.”

Kiyal smirked. “I’d like to see you try.”

Then the two of them clasped hands, sealing the deal. Everything was going to go well. Because it was riding on Lance coming back and beating his mermaid friend in a swimming race.

His mermaid friend.

It was about time he could call Kiyal his mermaid friend. His still cautious, still PTSD laden mermaid friend, but...

His Red Paladin mermaid friend.

Lance went to get changed.

He had some Galra to beat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! This was a little harder than I expected it to be. But it's done now and I'm very happy with the results. Thank you all for your support. You all mean so much to me. Thank you.


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